The Quest's End
by BenRG
Summary: As Ash faces his final battle, he reaches the end of two quests: To become The Pokémon Master, and to learn the truth about his father!
1. Within Reach

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Pokémon – The Quest's End

A fanfiction by BenRG

****

Disclaimer

Pokémon, the Pocket Monsters, their human friends and enemies and all the technologies of the Pokémon universe are the property of Nintendo., Creatures Inc. and Game Freak Software. This is a non-profit work for free distribution through the Internet. No breach of copyright intended.

****

Author's Notes

This is an Alternate Universe story, closely linked to my Original Character story, 'The Journey'. Most of the events of Ash Ketchum's past have occurred as in the canon timeline. However, I have added one or two Pokémon to Ash's team that I feel he needs. I have also taken some liberties with some of the newer Pokémon, due to my unfamiliarity with the Ruby- and Sapphire-version Pokémon.

I don't know what they are going to call May's little brother Masato in the English-language dub of the animé. I have selected the name 'Matt' as being as good as any other.

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Censor: PG-13

Continuity: Takes place eight years after Ash began his Journey.

****

The Story

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Chapter 1 – Within Reach

Master Trainer Bruno Ross didn't see any reason to curse or engage in any theatrics as his Machamp succumbed to the powerful Psywave attack unleashed by Ash Ketchum's Kadabra. The moment that the talented young Kanto League champion had unleashed his psychic-type, the leader of the Elite Four had realised that his fighting- and rock-type Pokémon were in serious trouble.

As Ash excitedly embraced his Pokémon, Bruno recalled his Machamp and selected his third and penultimate Pokémon. He wasn't about to make any assumptions about strength or weaknesses. Ash's Kadabra had already beaten his Heracross by using a Fire Punch attack. Clearly, the boy had been training his friends with some unusual moves.

"Okay son," Bruno rumbled, "let's see how you handle _this_! Go Golem!" The grey-and-white super-type Pokéball containing Bruno's starter tumbled through the air and split open, spitting out a flash of white light. The light resolved itself into a huge rocky sphere with powerful arms and legs and a squat head peeking out from about a third of the way down the front of the sphere.

Ash frowned. Golem was a very tough Pokémon, with one of the strongest physical defence attributes of any Pokémon known in the world. Furthermore, it was a lot stronger against psychic-type Pokémon than a fighting-type, and had greater resistance to special attacks. "Okay, Kadabra, this is going to be a tough one, but I've trained you to be ready for anything," Ash called out. "Are you up to this, pal?"

"Kad!" Kadabra replied, nodding firmly. Ash drew in a deep breath and Kadabra immediately tensed, glaring at the powerful rock/ground-type Pokémon and awaiting his Trainer's orders.

The Master Trainer and the League Champion considered each other for a moment before making their first moves. "Use Psychic!" Ash commanded.

"Use Sand-Attack!" Bruno countered.

Kadabra was first off the mark. The brown-and-yellow psychic-type raised a three-fingered hand and reached out with his mind. He telekinetically lifted the surprised Golem off of the ground and flung him across the arena, slamming him into the arena wall, right beside Bruno. Unfortunately, the rock-type was strong enough to take one hit. He extracted himself from the crater that he had formed on impact with the wall and lumbered forwards as fast as he could. As he approached Ash's Pokémon, he scooped up a hand-full of sand and threw it into his opponent's face, just as Ash called for a Kinesis attack. Blinded and disoriented by the grit in his eyes, Kadabra failed in his attempt to telekinetically hamper Golem's movements.

"Great job!" Bruno called out. "Now use Earthquake!" Golem jumped into the air and slammed his big feet into the ground, generating a ring-shaped yellow-white shock-wave that rippled out in every direction, knocking Kadabra from his feet.

Ash grimaced, realising that Kadabra was at a disadvantage against Golem's physical strength. He immediately decided on a change of strategy. "Use Reflect, Kadabra!"

"Use Strength, Golem!" Bruno commanded. Golem lumbered towards Kadabra again. This time, however, Kadabra was suddenly surrounded in a glassy blue-white sphere of psychic energy. Golem slammed his body weight into his opponent, sending him flying. Instead of painfully falling to the Arena floor, however, Kadabra bounced back into the air, his force-field acting like a giant pinball. 

"Blast it!" Bruno hissed, more to himself than to Golem. "Use Thunderpunch!" he yelled, pointing at Ash's Pokémon.

Golem advanced on his adversary, but Ash wasn't going to wait for the electric-type attack (which would penetrate a Reflect shield as if it wasn't there). "Use Teleport, then follow up with Psybeam!" he called out. Kadabra blurred into blue-white light like a bad TV picture and then was gone. Golem lashed out at the last spot his opponent occupied, but connected with only empty air. The rock-type stared around him in shock, trying to locate Kadabra. At that moment, Kadabra re-materialised right behind Golem and unleashed a rippling beam of rainbow light from his forehead. The psychic-attack slammed into Golem, making him screech in pain.

Bruno grimaced. "Don't panic, Golem," he called out encouragingly. "Use Sand-Attack again!"

"Give him another dose of Psybeam!" Ash called out to his friend. Kadabra got his attack in first, but it wasn't enough to stop Golem from slapping another hand-full of sand into his face. Ash winced in sympathy. He ordered Kadabra to use Recover to recover from the damage he had already suffered in the three bouts thus far of the match.

Bruno nodded to himself before giving his next command. "Use Rollout, Golem!" Golem folded his arms and head into his spherical body, turning himself into a massive, rolling living boulder. The huge sphere rolled forwards and slammed into Kadabra. Despite the Reflect shield, the impact was still enough to send Kadabra tumbling. Golem swung around and, still imitating a living avalanche, he rolled forwards again. In total, he hit Kadabra three times.

Ash broke into a sweat as Kadabra staggered to his feet. Even through a Reflect shield, Rollout was a powerful attack, growing stronger with every hit. He had to finish this _now_ if he didn't want to lose this bout. "Are you okay, Kadabra?" he called out and received a positive-looking thumbs-up from his Pokémon. "Okay, use Psywave!"

Kadabra focussed his mind and generated a whirling blue-white globe of psychic energy in between his hands. Then he wound up like a star baseball pitcher and threw it at Golem. However, two hits with a Sand-Attack paid off for the rock-type. The attack went wide by a comfortable margin. Moments later, a Mega Kick attack sent Kadabra flying across the arena. The Pokémon slid to a halt at Ash's feet, quite unconscious. 

Ash sighed and shook his head. "Great job, Kadabra," he sighed, raising the Psychic-type's Fast Ball and recalling him. "Now you rest; The rest of us will take up the slack." Ash thought for a moment before selecting his next Pokémon. "Okay, show 'em what you can do, Growvyle!" Bruno's jaw clenched with concern as Ash's evolved grass-type from the distant land of Houen materialised. The bipedal lizard leaned forward and glared dangerously at Golem. "You set for a fight, pal?" Ash asked.

"Vyle!" Growvyle responded. With a metallic 'snick' sound, the long leaves along the grass-type's arms and tail snapped erect like a set of razor-sharp knives, the last pair pointing forwards from his wrists.

"We can't sit and wait for it, Golem," Bruno called out. "Use Ice Punch!" 

Ash was more than a little surprised to hear that. Clearly, Bruno had taught his Golem a great number of special moves. Golems were usually physical fighters, and it was unusual for them to know elemental moves like Thunderpunch and Ice Punch. He shook his head. _You can go wool-gathering in your own time,_ _Ash,_ he quietly warned himself. "Use Leaf Blade, Growvyle!"

Growvyle sped forwards, visible only as a green streak of motion. The razor-sharp leaves on his arms slashed through Golem's silicon crystal exoskeleton and sent the other Pokémon staggering away with a shriek of pain. Somehow, the huge Pokémon managed to stay upright and lashed out with a fist surrounded with silver-white ice-type energy, knocking Growvyle from his feet. 

"You can take it, Growvyle!" Ash called out. "Use Giga Drain!"

Bruno winced. He didn't bother ordering another attack. Growvyle was faster than Golem and this move would finish the battle. Growvyle half-turned and began to wave his tail at Golem. A trail of green-gold sparkles connected the two Pokémon, trailing from Golem's body to Growvyle's tail. Brighter pulses of golden light flashed down the trail to Growvyle. After a few moments, Golem fell on his side, quite unconscious.

"Yeah! Great job pal!" Ash raced over and hugged Growvyle. The lizard-like Pokémon looked slightly embarrassed to have received such praise.

Bruno shook his head and recalled Golem as the match umpire recited the familiar words that marked the end of the bout. "Golem can no longer battle! Bout to Challenger Ash Ketchum and Growvyle!" 

Bruno selected his last Pokémon and threw its' Pokéball forwards. "Okay, now it's your turn Hitmonchan!"

"Chan!" Bruno's fighting-type materialised, its' boxing glove-like hands raised in a standard guarding posture. 

Ash blinked at his opponent's last Pokémon, looking for all the world as if he was doing high-speed calculations in his head.

"Be careful, Ash," Misty Waterflower whispered from her place in the stands. She hugged her Togetic a little more tightly. "You know that Hitmonchan learn special moves that could hurt Growvyle…"

To Misty's left, Brock Slate grinned slightly at the young redhead. The two teens might often deny it, but there was no doubting that there was something between them. Of course, any fool could have seen that after what happened at the end of Ash's second year in Houen…

~*~*~*~

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FLASHBACK – Ash's fifth year on the roads

Misty looked around the waterfront of the small port town of Petalburg with a bittersweet smile. She seemed to have to look inside herself for a few moments before speaking. "Well, guys, it's been great travelling with you again," she said. "But I've got to go."

Ash blinked in surprise. "But… But you've only just got here, Misty!" he protested weakly. "It isn't as if you _have_ to go, with your sisters back at the gym and all!"

Misty's smile rose a notch. "So they are, Ash," she agreed. "But don't forget that I have my own dreams. I've got to become the greatest water-type Master Trainer of them all! I can't just sit around and wait for that to happen, you know!" Ash looked down, his new Houen League cap shading his eyes and hiding his distress from his redheaded friend. Misty sighed, slightly disappointed for reasons that she didn't want to address. "So, I'll see you around," she announced. She turned away from Ash to Brock so she could clap him on the shoulder, mess up Matt's hair and give May a little sisterly kiss on the cheek. Then, Misty pulled out a Pokéball and activated it. "Out you come, Sealeo!" 

With a flash of white light, Misty's evolved water/ice-type materialised on the quayside. The Pokémon jumped along the ground and leapt into the water, ready to carry his Trainer across the Indigo Sea to Cerulean City. "Misty, wait!" 

Misty paused just as she was about to jump onto Sealeo's back. "What is it Ash?" she asked.

Ash paused, not sure exactly what it was he was going to say. Not for the first time, he damned his new-found inability to express himself around Misty when she was back-lit by the sun. Ever since she had returned to the team with her 'new look', long hair and tighter-fitting clothes, he had found that she could make him lose his train of thought just by posing in the right way.

Misty couldn't help be a little flattered at the way that Ash had just frozen and started drooling at her. Most girls would be offended if a boy (even their best friend) had a tendency to stare at them the way that Ash was doing. However, after sixteen years as the runt of the litter, suddenly being able to draw boys like a Magnemite did iron filings was a pleasant change. Silently, Misty thanked her sister, Lily, for the wonderful makeover she had enjoyed that had so changed her appearance. Out loud, she sighed in annoyance. "Whatever," she said acidly. "Look, Ash, if you ever figure out what you wanted to say, just call me in Cerulean and let me know…" The former gym leader turned to leave again.

"You can't go!" Ash finally said, his brain finally kicking into 'drive'. 

"I can't?" Misty was genuinely surprised and a little hopeful. 

"Well… er…" Ash lost his track again. Pikachu rolled his eyes and gave his friend a light Thundershock to help kick-start his thought processes. "Ow! Well, you haven't taught May all about how to battle yet!"

"Hey! Don't get me involved in this, Ash Ketchum!" the young titian-haired girl called out, outraged at being used in this manner.

Misty smiled slightly at Ash. "You were doing fine before I came along, Ash," she said. "I'm sure that you'll do fine after I leave."

"I did?" Ash spluttered, making May and Matt giggle and making Brock roll his eyes. "You do?" The boy shook his head and tried to focus his thoughts. "Misty, I don't want you to go!" Ash snapped his mouth shut when he realised what he had just said, a look of panic in his eyes.

This time, Misty turned around and walked over to her best human friend and looked into his eyes. Ash had grown a lot in the last two years, he having finally entered his adolescent growth spurt. They were eye-to-eye now. Indeed, Ash was now slightly taller than Misty was. "Why not?" she asked. "Why don't you want me to go?" 

Ash looked for a way to escape and failed to find one. "Well… We'll all miss you…" he offered

Misty sighed. _Not good enough_, she thought. "There is an invention called a videophone, Ash," she said wryly. "You might try and figure out how to use one." Then she turned away and leapt to Sealeo's back. 

"I know how to work a videophone!" Misty heard Ash cry out in a tone of insulted pride, making her smile a little, pleased to have got under his skin one last time. "It's just that it isn't enough to 'phone you!"

Misty stopped dead. "What did you say?" she blurted, spinning to glare at Ash.

Ash looked terrified, as if he had just made a terrible error. "I… I said…" he stammered for a moment. "I said that 'phoning you isn't enough," he said at last.

Misty stroked her left foot along Sealeo's side, making the water/ice-type turn in the water and swim slowly over to where Ash was standing on the quayside. The young woman cocked her head in confusion. "Why not?" she asked.

Ash was trembling in fear and anticipation. He didn't want to say it. He couldn't say it. Misty would lose all respect for him if he did… But he didn't want her to go. He wouldn't let her go. If he had to say it to make her stay… then he would. He drew in a deep breath. "Because you wouldn't be here," he said.

There was a long pause. May opened her mouth to say something when Brock and Matt's hands slapped over her mouth simultaneously, silencing her.

Misty slowly clambered back onto the quay and looked at Ash nervously. She was every bit as afraid and eager to hear what the boy would say next as he was afraid and eager to say it. 

Ash had frozen again. Pikachu gently nipped his ear. [Say it, Pikapi,] the electric-type whispered into his ear in a firm tone of voice. [You need to say it, and Pikachupi needs to hear it.]

Ash grimaced slightly. _No way out_, he decided. "I missed you when you weren't here," he said at last. "Waking up without you there… It was as if a bit of me had gone missing and I couldn't find it." Misty raised a hand to her mouth in shock at hearing that. She was about to speak when Ash touched her lips with a finger to silence her. "I would start conversations with you and you wouldn't be there. I'd see something and think: 'Misty would like that', but you wouldn't be there to share it. I…" Ash sighed and looked down. "I missed you, Misty. I would miss you if you left again. Please don't go."

Misty tried to clear her head of the sudden white noise that was drowning out her thoughts, but she couldn't. "Ash… I…" she said lamely. The girl sniffled and fought down the tears pressing at the back of her eyes, moved by the strength of her friend's feelings and his heartfelt words.

Ash looked up at that, worried that Misty was upset. But she was _smiling_! And he liked that smile. "I like you Misty," he said, feeling as if he was in a trance or a dream. "I like you a lot. I… I don't want you to stay for May. Not for Brock, or for Matt, or for all the water Pokémon that you haven't caught in Houen yet…" Ash sucked in a deep breath before continuing. "I want you to stay for _me_," he declared. "Because I like you, and I want you to be around me all the time."

There was another long pause. "I missed you too," Misty said quietly. "And I want you to be around me all the time too."

The two friends looked at each other, matching looks of hope and fear on their faces. Suddenly, Ash's left hand drifted forwards and touched the back of Misty's right hand. The girl's hand opened and the two hands twined together. Pikachu jumped from his friend's shoulder as the two youngsters suddenly pulled each other closer and hugged tightly.

May couldn't believe that she was seeing Misty and Ash of all people acting like this! She was about to ask her Marril to use Water Gun on them to sober them up, when she suddenly saw the look on Brock's face. The tall Pokémon Breeder was grinning in relief. "Well, it's about time," he said in a satisfied tone of voice.

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FLASHBACK ENDS

~*~*~*~

Ash looked at Bruno's Hitmonchan and came to a decision. "Okay, Growvyle," he said, "you've done your bit, now return!" The young man raised Growvyle's Pokéball and prepared to recall his friend.

The umpire looked at Ash in surprise. "Kid, you realise that you won't be able to use your Growvyle again if you recall it," he warned.

"I know what I'm doing," Ash said with a fierce grin. "Okay, Pikachu, this one is all yours!"

"Pikaaa!" Pikachu cried out, jumping from Ash's shoulder as his best friend tucked Growvyle's Pokéball back onto his bandoleer belt.

Bruno looked at the small electric-type appraisingly. This Pikachu was Ash's starter and, one supposed, was his strongest Pokémon by far. However, it was difficult to see what the tiny rodent-like Pokémon could do to his powerful fighting-type. Still, Bruno had never been foolish or over-confident. He would be cautious. "Start off with Comet Punch, Hitmonchan," he commanded. "See what he has got!"

"He'll have to hit him first," Ash called back. "Use Agility, Pikachu!" Pikachu turned into a yellow blur, racing towards his opponent and flashing from side to side far faster than Hitmonchan could follow. Boxing glove-like hands flailed at nothing.

"Damn, that's fast," Bruno hissed to himself. He immediately decided to use a more accurate attack. "Use Fire Punch, Hitmonchan!" Flames began to lick around Hitmonchan's fists as the fighting-type turned back towards Pikachu.

"Use Thunderbolt, Pikachu!" Ash called out. Much faster than the fighting-type, Pikachu leapt into the air and unleashed a crackling golden-white blast of electricity that exploded around Hitmonchan, sending him staggering sideways. A few moments later, the fighting-type's fists flashed towards Pikachu, sending a ball of red-yellow flame crashing into the little electric-type, bowling him end-over end. "Pikachu!" Ash gasped. "Are you okay, pal?" 

A singed and smouldering Pikachu staggered to his feet and stood for a moment, swaying a little. He didn't feel okay, but he had to reassure Pikapi or he might concede the bout to prevent him from being hurt any further. He gave his Trainer a V-for-victory sign before turning his attention back to his opponent. Bruno had just ordered a Mach Punch. "Okay, show him your speed!" Ash said with a grin that reflected his renewed confidence. "Quick Attack now!" Pikachu blurred forwards again and slammed into Hitmonchan's gut. Somehow, the other Pokémon managed to hit Pikachu with a powerful upper-cut as the electric-type flipped away. Pikachu landed heavily, but on his feet.

Ash frowned. "Okay, let's slow that guy down some more!" Ash decided. "Use Thunderwave!" A rippling wave of golden-white electricity crackled from Pikachu's cheek pads and flashed around Hitmonchan, making the fighting-type roar in pain. The electrical discharge shorted out the fighting-type's nerves for a few moments, leaving him unable to carry out the Fire Punch attack that his Trainer commanded.

Bruno's face was a mask of concentration. Ketchum's Pikachu was tough, but Pikachus were basically weak against physical attacks. No matter how powerful this little Pikachu was, he wouldn't be able to stand up to a continual barrage of hits. "Hitmonchan! Focus on me, old friend!" The fighting-type turned his head to look at his Trainer and his eyes regained a little of their focus. "Use Mind Reader and then Dynamic Punch," Bruno ordered. "You can do it pal." Hitmonchan looked back at Pikachu and his eyes began to glow with psychic power as he focussed his will on the smaller Pokémon, maximising his chances of hitting with his next attack. 

Ash knew that Bruno had just ordered a knock-out combination move. However, he didn't have to stand still and wait for it. "Pikachu, use Thunderbolt again!" he commanded. There was another crash of golden-white lightning and Hitmonchan staggered. Then, with a terrifying battle-cry, the fighting-type lunged towards Pikachu again, his leading fist glowing brightly with power. "And again!" Ash called out. Hitmonchan was tough, but he was willing to bet that Pikachu was tougher… Besides, you couldn't dodge a move that followed a Mind Reader attack. It was best for Pikachu to keep hitting the opposition while he still could.

"Pikaaa… CHUUU!" Pikachu screeched, unleashing an even more powerful electric-attack which seemed to consume Hitmonchan. After a few sparkling seconds, the smouldering fighting-type dropped to the ground, his eyes glassy and unseeing.

There was a long silence in the stadium as the umpire conducted his examination. "Hitmonchan can no longer battle," the man declared. "Bout to Challenger Ash Ketchum and Pikachu. Ash Ketchum is the winner of this match!"

The stadium exploded into exultant cheers. "ASH!" Misty screamed, jumping to her feet. "You _did it_! Oh, he did it! This is _great_!" Responding to his Trainer's joy, Togetic soared into the air trilling in happiness. Misty turned to hug Brock, then she hugged Ash's mother, Delia, who was in tears herself. "I've got to get down there," Misty said, wiping the tears from her cheeks impatiently. 

Brock nodded. "There is a back way down to the arena," he said. "Come on."

~*~*~*~

Bruno stood like a rock of sobriety in the mass of joy that was Indigo Plateau stadium. He looked at his toasted Hitmonchan for a few moments before recalling the Pokémon to his Pokéball without a comment. He took a moment to look at Ash Ketchum as the boy hugged his battered-but-triumphant Pikachu. The boy was virtually dancing with glee.

The former world wrestling champion tried to keep his trademark glare intact but, slowly, a grin formed on his face. He slowly strode over to Ash and stuck out his hand. "Great job, Ash," he said. Ash stopped his celebrations immediately. He recognised the importance of the change in the way Bruno spoke to him. No longer was it 'boy' or 'son'. Now the leader of the Elite Four used his given name.

Bruno stuck out his hand to Ash and the young man took it in his own. The big man grinned dangerously and shook Ash's hand vigorously. "Well done indeed," he said. "By beating the Elite Four, you have earned the title of 'Master Trainer', and it is well deserved."

"Thank you, Master Bruno," Ash said.

Bruno held up a hand in stern reproof. "Call me 'Bruno', Ash," the man declared. "After all, we're both Masters now. You don't have to stand on ceremony with peers."

Ash was still engaged in a gape-mouthed attempt to absorb this concept when Misty appeared out of one of the arches that led out onto the arena. "_Ash_!" she shouted as she ran over. "Ash, you _did it_!" The young woman jumped into her best friend's arms and the two hugged tightly. "I never doubted that you would do it one day," she whispered into Ash's ear, making her boyfriend blush. 

Ash released Misty and stepped back. "You won't be able to call me 'Wannabe Pokémon Master' anymore now, huh Misty?" he taunted, touching the girl's button nose and making a little blush start on her cheeks.

Misty winked flirtatiously at Ash. "You'll always be 'Wannabe' to me, Ash," she said with a mischievous smile.

Ash folded his hands over his heart and staggered in mock grief, making Misty giggle. Bruno cleared his throat loudly, making both newly-accredited Master Trainer and his girlfriend blush and stiffen to attention. "So, what is the next step for you, Master Ash?" Bruno asked quietly.

Ash looked up towards the Masters' Box high in the stand. "I have never settled for second best," Ash declared, his voice ringing with confidence and determination. "I challenge The Pokémon Master to defend his title against me."

Although Lance Knight could not have heard the younger man's words, the redheaded man stared back at Ash, his dark eyes burning with indecipherable emotions.

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To be continued…


	2. Manoeuvres

****

Pokémon – The Quest's End

A fanfiction by BenRG

****

Disclaimer

Pokémon, the Pocket Monsters, their human friends and enemies and all the technologies of the Pokémon universe are the property of Nintendo., Creatures Inc. and Game Freak Software. This is a non-profit work for free distribution through the Internet. No breach of copyright intended.

****

Author's Notes

This is an Alternate Universe story, closely linked to my Original Character story, 'The Journey'. Most of the events of Ash Ketchum's past have occurred as in the canon timeline. However, I have added one or two Pokémon to Ash's team that I feel he needs. I have also taken some liberties with some of the newer Pokémon, due to my unfamiliarity with the Ruby- and Sapphire-version Pokémon.

I don't know what they are going to call May's little brother Masato in the English-language dub of the animé. I have selected the name 'Matt' as being as good as any other.

****

Censor: PG-13

Continuity: Takes place eight years after Ash began his Journey.

****

The Story

__

Chapter 2 – Manoeuvres

It took Ash a few minutes to fight his way through the press to his locker room in the depths of the Indigo Plateau stadium. However, after throwing several quotes to the news-men and news-women, he was able to close the door and enjoy a little hard-won privacy.

For a short time, the young man from Pallet Town sat on the bench in the small locker room, stroking his Pikachu and chuckling to himself in a self-deprecating way. "Why ever did I want fame and fortune, huh Pika-pal? The reality is never as good as the dream." Pikachu, who had made himself a very comfortable nest on his Pikapi's lap, looked up in confusion. Ash smiled and tickled the electric-type Pokémon between the ears. "Don't worry about it, pal," the black-haired man continued. "I'm just getting a little philosophical in my 'old age'." 

After gently moving Pikachu onto his folded jacket, Ash got up and, pulling off his tee-shirt as he went, strode over to the shower cubicle. Pikachu watched thoughtfully as water began to rain down on his Trainer. He would never understand human behaviour. Why get all wet to clean yourself when you could do it so much more easily yourself? With that, he began to lick his paws clean.

About twenty minutes later, Ash, now washed and refreshed, ventured out of the locker room. He was glad to see that the press had left, but there were some more-welcome faces waiting for him. "Ash! Oh, I'm so proud of you, my baby!" Ash's mother collided with her son and hugged him tightly. "I knew that you could do it, my precious," she murmured. 

Ash blushed brightly. "Mom…" he protested. In some ways it was strange for his mother to still call him her 'baby'. After all, he was a head taller than her now. But mothers never changed, at least their behaviour didn't. Ash couldn't help but notice the first few lines of long hard labour on his mother's face and a few streaks of silver in her auburn hair. "Thanks Mom," he said at last. "I couldn't have done it without you."

"And what about _me_, Ash Ketchum?" called a younger and most familiar voice. Ash laughed as he released his mother and hugged his younger sister, Bonnie. The auburn-haired girl was his mother in miniature, apart from her distinctive Ketchum family brown eyes.

"I couldn't have done it without you either, Sis," he said with a laugh. 

Pikachu clambered onto Bonnie's shoulder and hugged the side of her face. "Chupi," he said happily, his version of her name.

Misty grinned at the unspoken joy in the meeting between brother and sister. Although she had stayed at Ash's house many times, it had usually been during the school term, so she hadn't had the chance to get to know Ash's little sister as well as she would have liked. The girl was much like her brother in many ways; Excitable, impulsive, kind to a fault, determined and completely fearless. She was also skilled in the ways of Pokémon training. Although she had not chosen to follow Ash into the Leagues, she was quite skilled in directing her Butterfree and Rattata. Of course, being a girl, she had inherited Delia's understated strength and open-hearted generosity. 

While Ash listened to Bonnie's excited critique of his most recent battle, Misty drifted away, looking for a restroom. Suddenly a vaguely familiar voice spoke out of the shadows. "Hello, Ms. Waterflower," the man said.

Misty whirled, her hand jerking towards Starmie's Pokéball on the belt that May bought her for her birthday four long years ago. Leaning against a doorframe was no less a figure than The Pokémon Master himself, Lance Knight. "Master Lance," Misty said, feeling uncomfortable for no reason she could name. "What can I do for you?"

"The question, Ms. Waterflower," Lance said in his warm, baritone voice, "is 'what can _I _do for _you_?'" Misty cocked her head in polite confusion. "I know that you have claimed a Mastery in the training of water-type Pokémon," The Pokémon Master said. "I want you to know that you have a very good chance of succeeding in your application; assuming that you can beat Trinity and Lorelai in the ritual battle, of course."

Misty felt her heart leap in her chest in joy at that statement. "That's great news, sir!" she blurted.

Lance smiled in a way devoid of warmth. "Yes, isn't it?" he replied. "Of course, all such claims must be reviewed by The Pokémon Master before they are allowed." Misty nodded, wondering where this was going. "Consider how much more likely it will be that your claim passes that review if The Pokémon Master is in your debt in some way?" he mused.

"I'm… sorry?" Misty replied.

"It's quite simple, Misty," Lance said with a sigh. "If you ensure that your young… lover… withdraws his challenge to me, then I will make it my business to see that your claim to the title of Master Trainer passes its' review without question. I might even be able to convince Goodshow to drop the requirement for you to prove yourself in battle against the League's top Water-type Masters."

Misty's shocked expression turned into fury. "You… _creep_!" she hissed. "You're trying to blackmail me into convincing Ash to stop following his dreams! I would _never _do that!"

Lance smirked in an ugly way. He strode forwards, the simple weight of his presence was enough to back Misty against the wall of the corridor. "Think carefully, little mermaid," he murmured in a disturbingly intimate tone of voice. "Think about all the questions that could be raised about your Mastery if it came out that you got it only by sleeping with the new Pokémon Master…" Lance laughed.

"That's disgusting!" Misty snapped. "Ash and I haven't ever…"

"Who do you think the scandal sheets would believe?" Lance asked dangerously. "You know that the truth always comes second to a good story." The redheaded man reached out and began to stroke a finger along Misty's jaw-line making the young woman flinch away.

"Misty, Ash is looking for you!" Both man and woman jerked in surprise and turned to see Delia Ketchum standing in the corridor, glaring at them. Glad for the distraction, Misty fled down the corridor to safety. Delia moved slightly, hiding the fleeing young woman from The Pokémon Master's view. She stood there for a long moment, looking at Lance, who looked as if he had seen a ghost. "You must be far poorer a Trainer than I thought to need to use such tactics… _Lance_," Delia remarked, her usually-kind cinnamon eyes burning with uncharacteristic fury.

"You don't know what you're talking about," Lance scoffed unconvincingly.

"Don't I?" Delia asked, sounding slightly hoarse. "You should consider how well I know you, Master Trainer, before you dismiss my opinion of your skills. Stay away from that girl. I might not be a Master Trainer, but I assure you that your skill with your Pokémon won't save you if I hear about you molesting Misty ever again." Delia whirled and marched off down the corridor, her high heels clicking like gunshots on the tiled floor.

"Delia, wait…!" Lance called, reaching out for her. Then he fell silent and ducked back into the shadows. He thought that his past was buried, but seeing _her_, still so beautiful after fourteen years, had broken all the seals on his heart. Lance growled and began to march down the corridor towards his office. Delia Ketchum was part of the past of a dead man. Lance had to worry about his present… and his _future_.

~*~*~*~

Ash, Brock, Bonnie and a veritable storm of Pokémon walked out of the Indigo Plateau Stadium into the sunlight. Waiting for them were a large number of familiar faces. "Ash! Well done, lad! I always knew that you could do it!" Ash shook hands with his mentor, Professor Samuel Oak and smiled at the old man, who had known him all his life and had been such an inspiration.

"Hey there, Master Trainer! Didn't I say that you could beat that muscle-bound blowhard?" Ash turned to his former rival-in-chief, Gary Oak. The brown-haired boy slapped Ash on the shoulder and pulled him into a hug. "No one beats Trainers from Pallet Town, Ash. Didn't I tell you that before?"

Ash laughed. "Yeah, you did, Gary. Thanks." Behind Gary, Blastoise, his Starter, gave Ash a ponderous 'thumbs-up' and grinned in a good-natured way.

Several other Trainers, including Richie Yeager, Casey LaRoche and Duplica Simmons were waiting to offer their congratulations on Ash's victory. 

Bonnie smiled indulgently as her brother accepted his many friends' plaudits. Okay, so Ash could be dense sometimes, but he was her big brother and she loved him. Besides, she always knew that he was the best Trainer of his generation. Like all little sisters, she saw her brother as a hero, no matter how much they argued. Suddenly a shadow fell over the girl and she looked up in some surprise. "Hey! What's that?" she blurted.

Ash looked up and saw something that looked vaguely draconic cross the sun. It had a long neck and tail, stumpy dinosaurid legs and four wings that seemed to be made of giant leaves. Ash pulled out Dexter, his battered but faithful Pokédex, off his belt and scanned the Pokémon flying overhead. "_Pokémon #357 – Tropius, the dino-plant Pokémon,_" Dexter announced. 

Ash's expression transformed into a wide grin. "I think I know who this is," he announced, much to the confusion of his friends and kin.

The Tropius dropped out of the sky and landed just a few metres away from where Ash and Bonnie stood. A brown-haired girl jumped from its' back and pulled off her flying goggles before looking at Ash and waving. "Hiya, Ash!" she called out.

"May! You made it!" Ash laughed, rushing over to hug his friend. "Damn, but it has been a long time, May. Look at you! You've grown up!"

May blushed, running her hand through her waist-length hair nervously. It might have been three years since she last saw Ash Ketchum, but she still had a house-sized crush on the boy from Pallet Town. His frankly admiring gaze only made her embarrassment worse. Her mother insisted that she was beautiful, but May would always see herself as a plain girl.

Ash turned to the boy still sitting on Tropius' back. "And how are you, Matt?" he asked. The boy smiled, happy to see Ash again. "I'm fine, Ash," he said. "Or should I say 'Master Ash'? Everyone in Petalburg Town was cheering you on, you know!" Ash thanked the boy for his good wishes. Then May nudged her kid brother in the ribs, reminding him of something. "Oh! Hey, I got my starter Pokémon from Professor Birch this summer!" 

Matt pulled out a Pokéball and activated it, releasing a 2-foot high bipedal green reptilian Pokémon with a red belly. "Treeko!" it hissed. 

"I see that the Professor gave you the second best Pokémon of all time," Ash said with a wink to May, who always made her preference for the Torchic evolutionary chain quite plain. 

"What's the best?" Matt asked, exchanging a confused look with Treeko.

"You have to ask?" Ash asked, stroking Pikachu's sensitive cheek pads where he sat on his shoulders. The two youngsters from Houen laughed at hearing that familiar boast.

A loud coughing sound interrupted the reunion. "So, are you going to introduce me or what?" Bonnie asked in an arch tone of voice that Ash swore that his sister had learnt from Misty.

"Oh!" Ash blushed slightly. "May Crosse, this is my little sister, Bonnie. Bonnie, this is May; We travelled together when I was in Houen."

May walked up to Bonnie and the two 14-year-old girls stared at each other incredulously. Ash's mouth dropped open. They were virtual mirror images. Now that May had started wearing her hair loose instead of in pigtails, her long, auburn hair looked exactly like Bonnie's. Only May's blue eyes, contrasting with Bonnie's brown eyes, set the two girls apart. "This… is freaky," Bonnie said quietly.

"Yeah, tell me about it," May murmured.

Matt's jaw had dropped open when he saw Bonnie. The lenses of his glasses were in danger of steaming up! Okay, she looked a lot like his sister but… but… but she wasn't his sister! And she was the most beautiful girl that he had ever seen! "Good day to you, fair maiden," the boy said. "I'm Matt Crosse, and I must say that meeting you is a great pleasure!" Bonnie blushed as Matt grabbed her hand in both his hands and started trying to compliment her.

"Oh boy, it had to start sometime," May said, grabbing her kid brother by the ear and towing him away from Bonnie. The boy started struggling against his sister's grip, not wanting to get too far away from the auburn-haired angel that he had just met.

At that point, Misty emerged from the arch and broke into a run when she saw the new arrivals. She collided with May, virtually knocking the younger girl off her feet before enveloping her with a powerful hug. "May-chan!" she cried out. "Oh, it is so _good _to see you again!"

Matt took the opportunity of a distraction to rush back to Bonnie. "Matt," Ash said, interposing himself between the boy and his sister. "That is my kid sister you are trying to seduce." Matt blushed at hearing Ash's definition of his actions. "Just remember that the next time that your hand touches her… my Pidgeot will be there to cut it off with a Steel Wing attack, got that?" 

That example of fraternal over-protectiveness naturally started an argument between Ash and Bonnie. So, when Delia emerged from the entrance arch, the entire area was in a state of chaos. She had to smile at the sights before her. It was so good to be around so many people who were so vibrantly _alive_. Nonetheless, she couldn't shake the chill she had suffered at seeing Lance in the flesh after all these years.

Delia pressed her lips together in worry. Lance could throw around threats as much as he liked. Ash and Misty had faced far more dangerous foes than him. However, if he went beyond that… Well, perhaps she had waited long enough.

~*~*~*~

In the grasslands along Route 23, some five miles south of Indigo Plateau, a strange-looking encampment sat at the base of one of the huge Pokémon statues raised along the path towards the beginning of the Victory Road. The centre-piece of the camp was a blimp, whose envelope was shaped like a Meowth's head. Two tents and some crated supplies were set out around the parked aircraft.

At that moment, a loud tone blared out. A diverse group of individuals responded to that sound, a tall woman with fiery red hair (who was carrying a girl with a cap of dark hair), a man with lavender-grey hair and a cream-coloured Meowth. James Morgan was the first to reach the Blimp's communications console. "Team Rocket, James Morgan speaking, how can I help you?" he said in a pleasant tone when he pressed the 'answer' button.

"Well, you can look like a member of my organisation rather than a day tripper for a start," Giovanni diRocketti snapped in a sour tone of voice.

James jerked to attention upon hearing his employer's voice and automatically started to buckle his uniform tunic. Jessie instinctively drew her 3-year-old daughter, Roberta, closer to her body and backed away, making sure that the camera on the communications console couldn't see her. There was nothing in the regulations against agents having children (either together or with outsiders), but she was afraid, god she was afraid, that Giovanni would find some way to use her baby against her. "Mama, you're squishing me," Bobbi whispered. Jessie shushed her daughter as quietly as she could.

James spoke as loud as he could, drowning out his little girl's voice. "Aye-aye, sir," he said nervously.

Giovanni smirked. He knew that the lavender-haired fop and the redheaded minx had somehow managed to procreate, of course. However, it was only Jessie and James' arrogance that made them think he would be _interested_ in any child luckless enough to have them as parents. "I have a job for you, James," he announced. "A most unusual… client… has contacted me and requested the Organisation's services. I am transmitting rendezvous co-ordinates to your blimp's navigation computer now. Once you have met with this individual, ensure that you carry out his request _to the letter_. I want this person in our debt. Do you understand?"

James nodded. "Certainly, Boss," he said in his nasal tone of voice. "We won't let you down." Giovanni's reply was a sceptical grunt before he cut off the communications link.

"A special client?" Jessie parroted in confusion. "What is this all about?"

"Meowth! It must be somet'in big," Meowth announced. The cat-like Pokémon had jumped up onto the pilot's console and was reading the co-ordinates that Giovanni had sent them. "Da rendezvous is in Indigo Plateau!"

~*~*~*~

Four beautiful women in bikinis that only increased their beauty were relaxing in the outdoor swimming pool of a hotel in Indigo Plateau reserved for guests of competitors in the League Games. "So, you are the young girl that Ash was raving about all the time during his first year in Houen," Delia said as she stretched out in the pool. Misty, May and Bonnie were also in the pool. 

Misty, of course, was completely at home in the water, disappearing under the surface for alarmingly long periods before surfacing again in unexpected areas. She did so just as Delia made her comment and scowled. "And what did he have to say?" she asked.

Delia smiled gently, hearing the jealousy in the young woman's voice. "Nothing that you have any right or need to hear, Misty," she said in a reproving tone of voice.

Misty scowled at May, feeling annoyed that something might have been going on between the other girl and Ash. May was blissfully ignorant of this undercurrent. "Hey, I would like to know what he said about me too!"

"Mom thought that he was getting a crush on you," Bonnie called out. "But then Misty turned up again, and it was as if she hadn't ever been away! He started raving about _her_ instead!"

Now May and Misty were glaring at each other angrily. Both were, doubtless, silently wondering if they could get away with an accusation. Then they realised the other message in Bonnie's mischievous comments and started to blush in embarrassment at being 'raved' about.

"Bonnie, what have I always told you about gossip?" Delia asked gently, glaring at her daughter.

Bonnie looked downwards. "Sorry, Mom," she said quietly.

Delia decided that she should move the conversation onto safer and more neutral ground. "I can't get over how alike you and Bonnie are, May," she said cheerfully. "It is as if you were separated at birth!"

"Yeah, it is weird," May admitted, her eyes locking with her Doppelganger, who giggled self-consciously. 

"They're not _exactly_ alike," Misty said. "May has a different shade of eyes… And now I think about it, she is heavier around the hips and chest than Bonnie…" With her usual forthrightness, the girl grabbed Bonnie and dragged her over to May. Then she spent a few moments staring at them, as if trying to tell them apart.

"Do you want to check my teeth as well?" May asked sarcastically.

"Will there be an internal exam too?" Bonnie snapped resentfully. 

"Still, I do know why Ash was so fascinated with you now," Misty said, acting as if the two girls hadn't said a word.

"Hey! Er… You do?" May seemed nervous and eager at the same time.

"Yeah," Misty said with an infernal smile. "You reminded him of his sister and that is why he wanted you around!"

"That… That is wrong on _so_ many levels," May blurted, much to Misty's amusement.

Bonnie shook her head and swam off, not wanting to be around for the inevitable May verses Misty argument. What is worst, it looked as though her Mom was about to get involved! She swam towards the far end of the pool, screened from the rest of the hotel's grounds by a line of bushes. As she swum closer, she definitely heard a quiet voice say: "Gary! Get your knee off of my hand!" 

Bonnie's swallowed nervously. Trying to stay casual, she continued to swim until she returned to the other three ladies. Delia had, by now, given Misty a dressing down and had her apologise to May. "Hey!" Bonnie whispered urgently. "Did you hear something? Don't look, but I think someone is in those bushes!" 

Long used to this problem, Misty didn't turn or in any way acknowledge Ash's little sister's words. She worked a Pokéball off of its' clip on the back of her bikini briefs. "Out you come, Wingull," she said quietly, releasing her seagull Pokémon. "Now! Use Water Gun on that bush!" Wingull took to the skies, arced around and directed a pressurised water jet at the bushes screening the pool from the rest of the hotel grounds. There were several masculine cries of pain and surprise and four bodies fell into the swimming pool.

"Matt!" May gasped.

"Ash!" Bonnie cried out.

"Samuel!" Delia squeaked.

"Gary!" Misty bellowed.

"Er, hi ladies," Gary offered with a lame smile after he surfaced. "Er… Fancy meeting you here?" The four males exchanged embarrassed looks and quailed at the furious looks being shot their way by the objects of their respective obsessions. The resulting water-fight lasted for at least half an hour.

~*~*~*~

"Did anyone see you three arrive?" the voice asked out of the deep shadows cast by the barely-risen sun. 

Jessie and James, their white TR uniforms covered by two-tone grey smocks, nearly jumped out of their skins. Meowth smothered a cry of surprise, instinctively baring his claws. Jessie, as always, was the first to recover her wits enough to argue. "We landed our transport outside of the walls during the night and came in through the storm drains," she replied. "Now who are you?"

"Who am I?" The man laughed and stepped forwards into the light. The three Rockets' mouths dropped open in surprise. "Why, I'm the man who is going to be the best friend that your Boss has ever had!" Lance Knight said with an evil smirk.

Jessie and James exchanged suspicious looks and checked around them for any sign of the police or others of the League's Elite trainers. Meowth glared at the red-headed human suspiciously. "Meowth! What would _youse _want wid Team Rocket?" he hissed.

Lance raised an eyebrow in interest. "A talking Meowth?" he said in surprise. "Fascinating. I must ask Giovanni how he managed that, one day." Then he turned back to Jessie and James, an act of contempt that left Meowth fuming. "What I want is simple enough. Ash Ketchum has challenged me for the title of The Pokémon Master. I want that challenge stopped. I don't care how and I don't care who might be hurt in the process, so long as it can never be traced back to me, do you understand?"

Jessie exchanged a mocking smirk with James. "Yes, we understand," she replied with malicious good humour. "You are afraid of the Little Twerp, so you want us to deal with him for you! This is so _deliciously _funny!"

Lance scowled. "If this is your Boss's concept of professional courtesy, I'm not impressed," he commented. "If this is below you, I'm sure that I can find someone else…"

James sneered. "Oh don't worry," he said in a mocking tone. "We'll do the job. Team Rocket is a _business _after all. Just don't expect to have our respect for not having the guts to fight this battle yourself."

"I wouldn't worry, James," Jessie replied. "I don't think he has respect for himself. Why should anyone else matter?"

"Spare me your patronising comments," Lance spat. "You just do the job that I hired your boss to do for me. I have better things to do with my time than get my Pokémon hurt fighting every talentless non-entity that gets past Bruno."

Jessie and James rolled their eyes and turned to leave. The parting comment was left to Meowth. "Youse just keep telling yerself dat is the reason," he advised. "Meowth! Maybe youse will even be able to look ya reflection in da eye!"

Lance watched the three terrorists walk away with a sick sensation in his gut. _Was_ he afraid? Certainly, Ash was a brilliant Trainer, perhaps as good as he himself. Perhaps he _did_ doubt his ability to win. With a silent curse, he turned and began to walk back to his palatial offices. He had to keep his thoughts focussed. All that mattered was keeping the rank and position that was his _by right_. If he had to sell his integrity, his self respect and even his soul to that end, then it was a bargain that he was willing to make.

~*~*~*~

Later that day, Ash, Misty and May were out walking along a path in the woods to the west of Indigo Plateau. Ash wanted to exercise some of the Pokémon that weren't in his current fighting team. He wasn't sure why May and Misty had insisted in coming along. However, he had the strangest feeling that there was some kind of tension between the two young women. He _had_ hoped that Matt would have been willing to come along, but the boy had insisted in staying with Brock today. May had said something about him wanting to discuss 'technique' with the former Pewter City Gym Leader. Ash suspected that this meant that the boy hadn't given up on Bonnie just yet.

As Misty made a point to May by linking an arm through Ash's and leaning against his shoulder, the ground collapsed beneath them. The three humans and Pikachu looked around themselves in surprise. "Well, it's been a long time since _this_ last happened to us," Ash admitted with some surprise.

Very familiar superior laughter echoed down from above the pitfall trap. "Prepare for trouble, for we have some words for the wise!" an upper-class feminine voice declared.

"And make it double, because you're in trouble otherwise!" added a nasal masculine voice.

"To protect the world from devastation,"

"To unite all peoples of our nation!"

"To denounce the lies of truth and love,"

"To extend our reach to the stars above!"

"Jessie!"

"James!"

"Team Rocket! Blasting off at the speed of light!"

"Surrender now or prepare to fight, fight, fight!"

"Waaahhh-buffett!" said a third voice

There was a loud thud from above and then a fourth voice added: "Meowth! Dat's right!"

"Team Rocket!" Ash snapped.

"What do you losers want this time?" Misty added acidically.

"Now, is that any way to talk to people who are trying to do you a favour?" Jessie sneered as she looked down from the lip of the pitfall. 

"Yes! For once we aren't even after your Pikachu, and yet still you insult us!" James reeled back, putting a hand over his heart. "Such suspicion and anger… It's simply heart-breaking" he murmured in a tone of mock regret. Meowth and Jessie's Wobbuffet looked at each other smugly.

"Look, will you two drop the vaudeville routine and tell us what you want?" May asked in a waspish tone of voice.

"It's really quite simple," James replied. "We are the bearers of a request from a… client of ours. Twerp, you are going to withdraw your challenge to the Pokémon Master."

The three humans in the pit looked at each other in confusion. Why should Team Rocket care about such a thing? And what did they mean by saying that it was a request from a _client_? "And if I refuse?" Ash asked.

Jessie snorted. "You don't get a choice, Twerp," she replied. "If you don't appear for the battle tomorrow, you will forfeit the right to challenge him ever again." Jessie turned to the third member of their group. "Meowth, get the blimp. We've got to take some cargo a long way from here." Meowth nodded and darted off into the forest. 

"It won't take us two days to get out of here, Jessie!" Ash snapped from below.

"Under normal circumstances, yes," Jessie agreed. "But these aren't normal circumstances." With that, the woman pulled out a spherical object, pressed a button on its' side and dropped it into the trap. There was a loud 'pop' and a cloud of blue-white spores puffed out of the pit. "They'll be out for at least an hour," Jessie told James. "Now we just take them to an isolated island, say in the Orange Archipelago, and leave them there. By the time they get back it will be too late!"

"All the best plans are the simple ones," James said and the two Rockets exchanged self-satisfied smirks. Suddenly James looked down at the ground underneath his feet. "Is the ground moving?" he asked. At that moment, the ground under the two Rockets' feet exploded upwards and an unusual black-and-white Raticate emerged, sending Jessie and James (and Wobbuffet) flying into the air. The three hapless beings dropped into their own pitfall, and into the cloud of Sleep Powder. 

"But everything was going so well!" Jessie moaned, trying to cover her nose and mouth with her tunic.

"Doesn't it always?" James asked, "But now it's backfired as usual…" His eyes began to droop.

"Now… Team Rocket is… dropping off… again…!" The two humans were snoring before they finished collapsing on top of each other.

"Waaah-baaa-feet!" Wobbuffet moaned and then collapsed on top of the other two.

Ash, Misty and May stayed well away from the pit's edge and the sleep-inducing grass-type spores still billowing out of it. "That should keep them out of our hair for a while," May said with grim satisfaction.

"What were they talking about, though?" Misty asked, concern in her voice. She hadn't told Ash about Lance's odd 'offer' yesterday. Now she was wishing that she had.

Ash, thanks to seven years experience, was able to read Misty's expression and body posture. "We'll find out," he declared. He turned to the black-and-white Raticate and gave it a pat on the head. "I've never regretted teaching you Dig, have I?" he asked, giving the normal-type a Poké-Treat candy.

"Raticate!" Ash's Raticate replied, sounding smug.

~*~*~*~

Delia Ketchum opened the door of her hotel room with a distracted scowl. "What is it?" she asked angrily. When she saw her son, she blushed and her voice softened. "Oh! Ash! I'm sorry, I thought you would still be out in the woods!" The woman pulled her printed silk dressing gown tighter over her scandalously skimpy negligée, blushing a little in embarrassment.

Ash, bless him, was too focussed to realise the cause of his mother's embarrassment. "Mom, I have to talk to you," he said. "Can we come in?" Delia looked nervously over her shoulder before finally nodding, a little reluctantly.

Ash, Misty and May entered the room's living area and noted, with some surprise, that Professor Oak was present, dressed in a quite unusually casual manner for the usually-formal scientist. The man swallowed nervously and put down his glass of champagne before pulling his half-open shirt closed across his chest. "So, what can we do for you, Ash?" Delia asked.

"Professor, Mom," Ash said. "Today, Team Rocket attacked us."

The two older people exchanged alarmed looks. "So close to Indigo Plateau?" Oak said in alarm. "That's worrying news! The Rockets must be getting confident if they think that they can operate so close to the League Headquarters!"

"That isn't the worst of it," May said, sounding pleased that she had unprecedented news.

"They said that they were working on behalf of a 'client'," Ash announced. "They weren't interested in stealing Pikachu or any of our other Pokémon. They wanted to stop me from battling for the title of Pokémon Master!"

There was a long pause. Delia, wearing an expression of deep fear, walked over to Professor Oak and sat on the arm of his chair. Perhaps only May, with the benefit of a little detachment, noticed the way the woman's hand twined with the scientist's hand in a way that communicated reliance and comfort. After a thoughtful moment, Delia spoke up. "Misty, dear, do you think that this has anything to do with that offer that Lance made you yesterday?"

"I… didn't want to think about it," Misty admitted, looking down with a little shame. "But it might be connected, yes."

Ash looked between his girlfriend and his mother in a perplexed manner. "What offer? What is she talking about, Misty?"

Before Misty could speak, Delia interrupted. "Ash, it is time for me to tell you something. Perhaps I should have told you before, but I told myself it wasn't necessary. Now, I can no longer avoid it. Ash, the time has come for me to tell you about your father."

__

To be continued…


	3. True Lies

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Pokémon – The Quest's End

A fanfiction by BenRG

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Disclaimer

Pokémon, the Pocket Monsters, their human friends and enemies and all the technologies of the Pokémon universe are the property of Nintendo., Creatures Inc. and Game Freak Software. This is a non-profit work for free distribution through the Internet. No breach of copyright intended.

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Author's Notes

This is an Alternate Universe story, closely linked to my Original Character story, 'The Journey'. Most of the events of Ash Ketchum's past have occurred as in the canon timeline. However, I have added one or two Pokémon to Ash's team that I feel he needs. I have also taken some liberties with some of the newer Pokémon, due to my unfamiliarity with the Ruby- and Sapphire-version Pokémon.

I don't know what they are going to call May's little brother Masato in the English-language dub of the animé. I have selected the name 'Matt' as being as good as any other.

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Censor: PG-13

Continuity: Takes place eight years after Ash began his Journey.

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The Story

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Chapter 3 – True Lies

Team Rocket were sitting around a hastily-prepared campfire and sipping cups of a tea that Jessie's prized book of herbal remedies promised gave instant relief to all the side-effects of Sleep Powder. They needed it, because right now they had splitting headaches. Bobbi was sitting on the other side of the fire, looking at her parents in a worried and slightly angry way. "Are you gonna be okay?" she asked at last, hugging Wobbuffet a bit tighter. The gumdrop-shaped Pokémon hugged the little girl comfortingly and murmured something in his own language.

Jessie managed a reassuring smile. "Don't worry, dear, it's only Sleep Powder," she replied. "It isn't even as dangerous as Stun Spore."

"Meowth! And it ain't as if dey haven't had woise!" Meowth added. The cat-like Pokémon wasn't showing it, but he had actually been quite scared when he hadn't found his two friends waiting when he had returned to the pitfall trap in the blimp. Fear turned to anger and dismay when he used the blimp's cargo nets to haul up what was at the bottom of the trap and found it was _them_. He still hadn't quite got over his deep sense of dismay now.

"When was you hurt worse than that?" Bobbi snapped at her parents in a way that James swore was frighteningly reminiscent of her mother. 

Jessie was about to tell Bobbi not to worry about it when James, with a laugh, spoke up. "Oh, dear, little Rosebud. Your mother and I have been blasted off by a Thunderbolt from the same boy's Pikachu more times than we can count!" Jessie winced and looked away, horrified by her mate's tactlessness.

"Why?" was the question that Bobbi naturally wanted answered.

Jessie and James looked at each other in a stricken manner. What were they going to tell her? That they were thieves and terrorists? That they ran around the region in Halloween costumes, stealing, intimidating and committing other crimes for a man who wouldn't conceal the contempt that he felt for them? They had been very careful to shield Bobbi from their 'profession', but it was getting more and more difficult. The girl had a quick, inquiring mind and it was getting harder to explain to her why she was different from the other children she met on their infrequent trips to various towns and villages.

Meowth, bless him, had an answer ready. "Ah, ya Ma and Pa just get in lots'a arguments wid da Twoips, Li'l Kitten. Dat's all."

Bobbi blinked at her feline tutor in all things Pokémon and asked the obvious next question. "Why?" A large droplet of sweat appeared at the side of all three adults' faces.

"Because that is the way things are, Bobbi," Jessie said firmly.

"Why?" Bobbi asked again, clearly not satisfied.

"You'll understand when you grow up," Jessie said gently, although it was clear from her expression that she didn't want any more back-talk. 

Bobbi picked up on that immediately and shrugged in a careless manner. "Oh," she said and returned to a silent conversation with Jessie's Wobbuffet.

Jessie looked at James, and he saw the shame and self-loathing in her eyes. _How many more lies?_ he asked himself. How many more times would they have to refuse to answer their daughter's questions about who and what they are? And would they be able to face the consequences the day when she learnt the truth?

~*~*~*~

"I have actually told you a lot about your father," Delia told her son, although her mind was obviously very far from her hotel room. There was the light of old, hard memories in her eyes… And a pain that Ash couldn't recall ever having seen before. "You probably even still remember a little about him. You were three-and-a-half years old when you saw him last, after all."

"And then he went off on a Journey and died somewhere out there," Ash finished for her, looking down at his hands, his eyes growing dark and stormy with half-remembered grief. Misty, who was sitting close beside him on the couch, reached over to hold Ash's hand and give it a reassuring squeeze. May, at the other end of the couch from Ash, shot her friend a compassionate look. She couldn't ever understand that part of Ash's past, of course. That is probably where Misty, orphaned at only three years of age, had a big advantage over her.

Delia sucked in a deep breath. "That is what I told you," she confirmed. "But that isn't really true, Ash. You were little more than a baby, and I couldn't possibly tell you the truth. Now, I want to do that. Perhaps I should have done so long before today, but I will accept your judgement in this matter."

Ash blinked. "You mean… my father _isn't_ dead?" he blurted, his voice breaking with surprise.

"It depends on how you define the word 'dead', lad," Professor Oak said. "Just because a body keeps moving doesn't mean that the soul lives on."

As Ash tried to process that cryptic comment, his mother took charge again. "You know that your father was a Pokémon trainer, Ash," she said. "He was a good one too, if I am a fair judge, but not spectacularly good. He won a few competitions and was quite highly-ranked in the League for a long time. Nonetheless, he never came close to beating the Elite Four." Delia sighed, choosing and discarding various ways to continue before finally deciding on a path that contained no lies. "I had hoped that he would settle down with me when we were married and give up the nomadic life. When you were born, I thought that I had got my wish. He got a job as an assistant at the Professor's laboratory and didn't seem inclined to ever journey again." The woman sucked in another deep breath before continuing. "However, shortly after your third birthday, he became restless. You might remember that he would go out on long trips onto Route 1 and Route 21, often being away for days. Eventually, he told me that he was going to go on one more journey and become The Pokémon Master. He told me that it was his destiny and that he had been a fool to let himself stagnate for so long."

Ash grimaced, vaguely remembering hearing loud arguments from downstairs as he lay in bed. He remembered hugging his Dragonite plushie, the most prized gift that his father had ever given him, and hiding under the covers, hoping to block out the angry voices of his parents. "I remember…" he whispered.

Delia looked down, feeling the pain and a little shame, all over again. "Maybe I should have been more supportive of him, Ash. Maybe it was wrong for me to demand that he give up his ambition for his family but…" Delia shook her head. "But, damn it! I was pregnant! He was planning to run off and let me face bringing his second child into this world alone, not knowing when or even _if _he would come back!" Delia shuddered a little and looked her son right in the eyes. "He didn't care, Ash," she said, fury and pain deepening her voice to a snarl. "He told me that nothing was more important to him than getting that title. He said that it was his _destiny_. He told me that I could accept that or not as I wished; he didn't care. Then…." Delia suddenly sobbed out loud and was surrounded by Ash and Professor Oak. It took the woman several seconds to stop reliving the moment enough so that she could remember it. "He walked away from us, Ash. Away from his wife and his children. He cast off the identity and face of Michael Arthur Ketchum and took on an identity more to his liking. And he still has that identity to this day."

Ash tried to take all this in. He was still holding his mother's hand, so he looked into her pain-filled blue eyes and tried to see if he could see any lies waiting there. "So, my father is still out there, somewhere," he said. "He is living under a false name and he has changed his appearance, but he is still alive." The boy knew that he had a stupid grin on his face. Then his expression turned into a scowl and he looked at his mother accusingly. "Why did you tell me he was dead?" he spat out.

Delia looked at her son and he could see the pain in her eyes. Whatever she was about to say, Ash knew that she wasn't able to lie on this subject, even to herself. "Ash, I have not heard from your father once since he left us that night. He has never contacted us. He has never made an attempt to see you or Bonnie… In fact, I'm not even sure if he knows… or _cares_… that she exists. He has never given us any financial assistance. Ash, we are _dead_ to him. We aren't a part of his life or his priorities any more. So, it is fitting that he is dead to us too." Delia managed a smile but it was too nearly a sneer for her comfort. "And from the long string of… _sluts_ that he has consorted with according to the press, I don't think that he misses us very much."

"You hate him," May's words were not a question, they were a statement. Everyone stared at the auburn-haired girl in surprise, having briefly forgotten about her presence.

"Yes I do," Delia confirmed, her voice flat and emotionless. "He abandoned me and his son to live or die and he didn't care which it was. I was pregnant with his second child and he didn't care…" Tears were running down Delia's face. "I nearly miscarried Bonnie twice, you know. I was working 10-hour shifts in a factory, packing boxes. It was the only work I could get, but I had to do _something_ to put food on the table…" Delia turned to look at Professor Oak in a loving way. "I would have had to put you both up for adoption if it weren't for Samuel's charity."

Oak smiled in a sad way. "I couldn't turn my back when my former star pupil was in such trouble," he said kindly. "You should have come to me the minute that excrescence walked out on you, Delia."

Delia smiled back before turning back to her son. "Was I right to lie to you for all these years?" she asked rhetorically. "I'll leave that up to you, my son. Just believe this: Everything I did was so that you and Bonnie could be happy. For a long time, that was my only remaining reason for living."

Ash had retreated into himself, scowling thoughtfully. Misty came up and touched his shoulder. Ash looked at her with a grateful smile and turned back to his mother. "Why are you telling me this now?" he asked.

Delia sighed. "Because he is about to become part of your life again in the worst possible way," she said. "Misty, the time has come to tell Ash what happened yesterday after his battle with Master Bruno."

ash looked at Misty questioningly. She seemed reluctant, but Delia had backed her into a corner. "Yesterday, Lance came up to me and asked me… no he _demanded_ that I convince you to drop your challenge to him," she said. Anger quickly overcame reluctance and her voice rose in fury as she continued her story. "He _threatened_ me, Ash! He said he would spread lies in the newspapers about you and me if he didn't do it! He said he would sabotage my application to be named a water-type Master!"

Ash gasped. "The dirty…!" he shook his head. "We've got to go to Mr. Goodshow about this!"

"There is more, Ash," Delia interrupted. "You said that Team Rocket were trying to force you drop your challenge too. It is clear that Lance has hired them, just in case Misty was too strong a personality to succumb to his amateur attempt at blackmail." Ash nodded in agreement as Delia continued. "It seems that the 'great' Pokémon Master isn't sure of his ability to beat you, Ash. However, he isn't going to lose his title easily. After all, he gave up so much to get this far… Including his wife and family!"

All three young people's mouths dropped open. "You mean…?" May blurted out.

"Yes, my dear," Professor Oak said sternly. "Lance Knight, The Pokémon Master for ten years now, is actually Michael Arthur Ketchum, Ash and Bonnie's father."

~*~*~*~

Close to the League Stadium in Indigo Plateau is a large ranch-like building. Here, under 24-hour guard, are kept all the Pokémon belonging to a challenger to the Elite Four or the Pokémon Master. This is to ensure that no possible attempt could be made to sabotage a challenger's team. It also prevents the challenger from using illegal enhancements on his Pokémon in these most difficult and challenging matches.

Ash Ketchum, as was his right, was visiting his Pokémon. He needed advice, and, in his experience, Pokémon had the clearest logical thought processes of any conscious being. 

He had forgiven his mother, of course. What else could he have done? She hadn't abandoned him to an uncertain fate, after all. Hell, he even understood why he had lied. It would have broken his heart when he was younger to know that the father that he idolised had run off to fulfil his own selfish ambitions. It hurt now, too. But now he had friends and they could give him the strength to endure. He had just finished telling the story to two of his most powerful Pokémon. "So, what do you think?" he asked.

There was a long pause before Charizard and Salamence slowly uncurled from each other and faced their Trainer. Ash wasn't surprised that the two dragon-type Pokémon had chosen to become mates, but it still awed him to watch them together. [It is different for us,] Charizard said at last, his gruff voice sounding slightly confused. [When a Charmander or a Bagon are mature enough to leave the weyr, it is the end of our association with them.]

[But to abandon a chick when it is still young,] Salamence hissed sibilantly, [worse still to abandon one's mate when she is still gravid… These things are unthinkable to us.] The female dragon/flying-type blinked her shining amber eyes at her Trainer. [Why do you tell us this?]

"I'm not sure," Ash said at last. "I suppose that I wanted your opinion on what I should do next."

[Actually, I think that you want our opinion on whether it is right to hate him,] Pikachu interposed with a quiet laugh.

Charizard snorted and Salamence hissed in amusement. [Hate is such a strong emotion,] Salamence commented. [Would you be surprised to know that we Pokémon rarely feel hate?] Ash was surprised and he said so. [To hate a being means that all your thought and energy is focussed on that one's humiliation and destruction. We frequently resist our enemies or fight for survival, but there is no hatred in that. It is merely a conflict with a rival. It is a cause for determination, not hate.]

[Hate frequently blinds,] Charizard added. [The desire to destroy blinds one to the threats and stratagems of the enemy.]

"So you are saying that hating him would be playing into his hands?" Ash asked.

[No,] Charizard replied. [We are saying that hating him is a waste of energy. Your dam was correct. You are dead to him, so he should be dead to you.]

Ash thanked his Pokémon for their counsel. He then set off for the barn at the centre of the ranch, where his smaller Pokémon were kept and where the League was keeping an eye on his stock of curatives and power-ups. As Ash entered the barn, he was unaware of the fact that he was being watched by unfriendly eyes.

~*~*~*~

"Oh, dis is great!" Meowth said as he looked through his binoculars at the barn. "Da Twoip and most o' his Pokémon all at once. Da Boss'll give us a bonus for dis. Meowth! Maybe I'll even get ta be his Top Cat again!" Meowth turned to James. "Throw da switch Jimmy-boy!"

Much to Meowth's surprise, James didn't throw the switch. "Now," the lavender-haired man said in an uncharacteristically hoarse tone of voice, "let's be sure that we are clear about what we are proposing here. We are going to detonate a blast/incendiary bomb under the barn while the Twerp and about half of his Pokémon are inside."

"Meowth! Yeah! Dat's right! Do it already!"

"It would be murder!" Jessie said, swallowing.

"Whadda we care?" Meowth cried out frantically. "We're da bad guys, remembah? We take out the Twoip like da Boss wants and move on! Pity about dat Pikachu, but ya win some and ya lose some!" Meowth froze in horror as James lowered the safety cover down over the detonator switch and folded away its' aerial. "Whatta you doin'?" he screeched. "Throw da switch!"

Jessie had stood up and was glaring at Meowth. "And how am I supposed to tell my daughter that I'm a murderer?" she stuttered. "How are we supposed to have her respect and love then?"

Meowth was virtually dancing in fury. _Why_ couldn't these two sentimental fools understand? Ash was the _enemy_! Who cared what happened to him so long as they pleased the Boss? "She don't have to know!" he cried out. "Tink of all the great stuff you will be able to buy wid da bonus the Boss'll give ya!"

"You're disgusting!" James hissed. "I won't give my daughter a gift drenched in someone's blood! Even the Twerp's." Meowth jumped for the detonator only to be met with James' fist. The cat-like Pokémon fell to the ground, shocked. In all the years he had known James, the human male had never used violence against him.

"James, give him the detonator," Jessie declared. "If Meowth is so keen to be a killer, let's leave him to it. I'm leaving."

James gave his lover a strange look before complying and placing the remote control at Meowth's feet. Then he turned and joined her. Meowth picked up the remote and looked at them. "As long as you wear da Boss' colours, you gotta do as he says," he declared, scowling at his two human colleagues.

"Then the time has come for a change of wardrobe," Jessie declared defiantly. "I want Bobbi to be proud of us for what we _really_ are, not for the lies that we tell her!"

Meowth growled. He would deal with them later. First… He extended the aerial and uncovered the detonator switch. Meowth's eyes tracked to the deceptively simple-looking push-button detonation switch. Against his will, he found himself thinking of what the bomb would do. The concussion would kill most of them immediately. But the tougher-skinned Pokémon, like Magcargo and Wartortle, would certainly survive and would be trapped in the collapsed ruins of the building. Worse, the incendiary component of the bomb would create a firestorm, and those still conscious would be slowly burnt alive. Meowth swallowed. "Meowth! It's no good, I can't do it," he said mournfully. "I'm no killer, not in cold blood, anyways." He carefully deactivated the detonator and turned to his friends. "Whadda we do?" he asked plaintively.

"We start living our lives rather than just existing," Jessie replied.

~*~*~*~

Ash was conferring with his most experienced Pokémon about strategies for the next day's match. He was very surprised when, suddenly, there was a loud bellowing noise of over two dozen Tauros (and several other large Pokémon) confronting a sudden threat in their midst.

Without a second thought, Ash raced out into the compound to see, much to his depressed lack of surprise, Team Rocket, standing in the middle of a circle of angry Tauros. Charizard and Salamence were also present, their huge wings interlocked as they glared at their Trainer's sworn enemies. "Team Rocket! What are you doing here?" Ash shouted. Then, he noticed something. Jessie was holding a child to her in a defensive way. The child… she couldn't be much over three years old… was like Jessie in miniature only with short-cropped hair in the same lavender shade of James' hair. Immediately, every other question was forgotten. "Where did you get that little girl?" Ash asked quietly. If those two had kidnapped a child as a hostage, he swore that he would make them sorry that they were ever _born_!

Jessie, despite her perilous situation, managed a slight smile. "What's the matter, Twerp?" she asked. "Hasn't your mother ever told you about 'the Birds and the Bees'?"

Ash's mouth dropped open. "She's _your_ little girl?" Somehow, Jessie had never struck him as the maternal sort. And, come to think of it, James had never struck him as the paternal sort, but that got him onto uncertain ground and he didn't want to think about it _too_ much.

Jessie managed a slightly embarrassed smile and James puffed out his chest proudly. Jessie put her frightened daughter down and pushed her forward slightly. "Roberta Rae Morgan, I want you to meet Ashton Satoshi Ketchum. Be polite, dear, he is a Master Trainer, you know."

Much to Ash's shock, Jessie and James' little girl took a few uncertain steps forward and then curtsied to him. "Pleased to meet you, Master Ashton," she said in a precise voice.

"Call me Ash," Ash replied automatically, extending a hand to the little girl, who shook it with a pleased expression. He blinked and tried to reset his brain. "She's at least three years old! When…?"

"Why do you think that we vanished for the last year that you were in Houen and the year you came back to Kanto?" James asked. "We couldn't go in public while Jessie was so obviously pregnant, and we wanted Bobbi to be more than an infant before we started chasing you around again."

Pikachu, who was sitting on Ash's shoulder, nipped him on the ear, reminding him of what should be his priority. "What do you want?" Ash asked again.

"We just came to let you know that you'll probably never see us again," Jessie said. "We're quitting Team Rocket and are off to find our true destiny."

Ash had received a lot of shocks over the last few days, so this one rolled off his back without him even blinking. "Oh, okay," he said. "Good luck."

Jessie and James seemed a little disappointed at this lack of reaction. Meowth was barely holding in his laughter. "Anyway," James said, finally overcoming the awkwardness of the moment, "just to let you know that Lance Knight wants your challenge stopped, Ash. I'd be careful if I were you. I don't think that he will stop at _anything_ to keep his title."

"I kind of guessed that," Ash replied. "But thanks for letting me know." Ash raised a hand and, at his unspoken command, the Tauros and the dragons opened a way back to the TR blimp. "You two… You look after yourselves, okay?"

"Don't worry," Jessie replied. "We're good at _that_."

Ash watched as the blimp took off and soared overhead. Much to his surprise, two white tunics with the red 'R' emblem of Team Rocket came fluttering down from its' car to drop to the dirt. One last time, he heard the familiar refrain: "Team Rocket is blasting off again!" before they blimp faded into the distance.

"So much for the League's '24-hour security'!" Ash said to himself before returning to the barn.

Ash sat down and put Pikachu down on the table in front of him. "Well, now we know," he told his Starter. "Lance… my father… isn't interested in a fair fight. He wants to win and will do anything to do that. So, what do we do?"

[Are you suggesting that we cheat?] Pikachu asked uncertainly.

"No!" Ash was scandalised. "I'd never do that! But we have to think about how we can beat him fairly!"

Pikachu considered that. [We might as well do what you always do: Look at what a Trainer has done before and be ready to counter it.]

"Yeah, the thing is that you can bet that Lance does that too," Ash replied. "He has probably been watching tapes of all my old matches, figuring out my moves." The boy sighed. "He is sure to try something unexpected."

[Well, we can only counter what we know,] Pikachu said with his usual direct logic.

[He uses dragon-types,] Wartortle spoke up from where he was curled up next to his mate, Ivysaur. 

Ash nodded. "Yeah, that is why I've taught Ice Punch and Ice Beam to you and Croconaw," he said. "But still, there is more to a dragon-type than its' vulnerability to ice. They learn strong attacking moves too, so I should expect him to start hard and fast."

[Then use accuracy-reducing moves,] Noctowl advised from where he was perched. [Usually, more powerful attacks are less accurate.] 

Ash nodded. "That's a start," he said. "A defensive strategy, then?"

Pikachu considered that. [No,] he said at last. [That would be a mistake. Lance would use any hesitation to his advantage. You must find a way to combine a strong attack with a strong defence.] Ash nodded thoughtfully and seemed to go inside himself for a while. Pikachu cleared his throat. [Ash,] he said at last. [There is something that we need to talk about.] Ash looked his friend in the eye. Pikachu had to take a moment to find the resolution to continue. [This is going to be a match like no other,] he said. [You only have this one chance, so you can't afford to blow it.]

Ash cocked his head. "That's true," he said at last. "Strategy and tactics have got to be right, and they've got to be right first time."

[That too,] Pikachu replied. The small electric-type sighed. [There is no easy way to say this,] he said at last. [Why is it that Team Rocket were always trying to steal me?]

"Because you were so strong," Ash said. "Meowth once told me that you could be the strongest Raichu that ever lived." Ash grinned. "I'm happy with you just how you are."

Pikachu smiled and walked over to hug Ash's face. [I'm glad,] he said. [Ash, you will need me to be strong tomorrow. Stronger than I have ever been before.] The small Pokémon looked into his Trainer's eyes and sighed. [What I am saying, is that the time has come for me to return this…] The Pokémon touched the shining blue Everstone on his collar, [and take the other stone that I know you keep in your pack.]

"Pikachu! Do you know what you are saying?" Ash blurted. The electric-type nodded glumly. "You know that this is irreversible," Ash continued. "You let me do this and there is no going back!"

[It is time,] Pikachu said simply. [It is time for me to repay the trust and love you have given me. It is time for me to accept the next step in my life. It is time for me to prove that I love you enough to take the ultimate step for you.]

"I would never ask this of you," Ash said quietly, feeling emotion choking off his words.

[It is _I_ that ask this of _you_,] Pikachu replied. [This is my choice. Please.]

"Thank you, my friend," Ash replied, and gave his Pikachu, his starter, his best friend, one last embrace.

__

To be continued…


	4. Battle Royale

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Pokémon – The Quest's End

A fanfiction by BenRG

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Disclaimer

Pokémon, the Pocket Monsters, their human friends and enemies and all the technologies of the Pokémon universe are the property of Nintendo., Creatures Inc. and Game Freak Software. This is a non-profit work for free distribution through the Internet. No breach of copyright intended.

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Author's Notes

This is an Alternate Universe story, closely linked to my Original Character story, 'The Journey'. Most of the events of Ash Ketchum's past have occurred as in the canon timeline. However, I have added one or two Pokémon to Ash's team that I feel he needs. I have also taken some liberties with some of the newer Pokémon, due to my unfamiliarity with the Ruby- and Sapphire-version Pokémon.

I don't know what they are going to call May's little brother Masato in the English-language dub of the animé. I have selected the name 'Matt' as being as good as any other.

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Censor: PG-13

Continuity: Takes place eight years after Ash began his Journey.

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The Story

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Chapter 4 – Battle Royal

Indigo Plateau Stadium; Built into a limestone bowl in the foothills of the Icy Mountains, it is one of the wonders of the Pokémon Islands. As well as being the largest stadium ever built (seating well over 150,000 spectators), it is both the focus and the symbol of the dreams of every Pokémon Trainer in the world. For while many may dream of it, only the very, very best ever battle in the stadium's classically-designed multi-environment arena.

In the West Stand, high over the Challenger's Platform, a very worried Delia Ketchum was being shown to her seat by Professor Oak. "Delia, I'm sure that Ash is fine," the elder scientist was saying. "He has had a lot to think about over the last day or so, so I'm not surprised that he hasn't had time to come to breakfast in the hotel restaurant."

Delia sat down with a sigh. "Even so," she said. "Samuel, was I right to tell Ash the truth about his father?"

Oak grinned at his lover. "Delia, in all the years I have known you, you have always done what is best for Ash and Bonnie. This time was no different." The white-haired man reached out to stroke a finger along Delia's cheek, making the woman blush. "Ash is a lot smarter than people thing," he continued. "He understands what you did and why. I think you will find that he approves of your actions."

"Hey Mom! Professor!" Bonnie's loud greeting prevented from Delia from continuing the discussion. Ash had agreed with his mother that there was no need to discuss their last conversation with his little sister. Bonnie had never known her father and had shown less interest in him than Ash. Delia had agreed to tell her if she specifically asked, but she doubted that her little girl would ever care. "You were blushing, Mom!" Bonnie teased. "Did I interrupt before you could kiss the Professor?"

Delia blushed even more brightly, making Bonnie giggle and earning her a mock swat around the ear from her mother. Misty, Brock, May and Matt had all arrived with Bonnie (the three girls had spent the night at an impromptu sleepover that, in Delia's opinion, should have got Ash worried). "Misty, dear, have you seen Ash today?"

"No, I haven't," Misty said quietly. "When I called the Trainer's Lodge, they said that he had already left that morning to collect his team for the match."

"Well, at least he hasn't dropped his challenge," Delia said. "I was worried that maybe…"

"There is no chance of that," Misty said in her usual forthright way. "Ash is too determined to give up his dreams for _anything_."

"Besides," Brock added, not really sure why Delia thought that Ash would withdraw, "he might get nervous at facing a big match, but that only makes him try harder."

Delia smiled in agreement. At that moment, the level of ambient sound in the stadium dropped dramatically as a man walked out to the centre of the Pokéball mark on the main field. Delia immediately identified the portly, bearded Chief Executive of the Pokémon League, Trevor Goodshow. "_Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, Pokémon lovers of all ages,_" he announced through the stadium's PA system. "_It is my great pleasure to welcome you to the climax of this year's Pokémon League, the battle for the title of The Pokémon Master. I ask you to give your wholehearted welcome to the Challenger, Master Trainer Ashton Satoshi Ketchum!_"

The crowd went wild. Ash was still only a young man, but his inimitable style and boyish enthusiasm in all his pursuits had already earned him a firm fan-following throughout the Islands. Ash walked out, his clothes clean and pressed, and wearing his original Pokémon League hat. He passed down the length of the honour guard of pretty women in the League's colours, who were holding plain flags of red, yellow, blue, gold and silver. 

Brock noticed something immediately. "Hey! Where's Pikachu?"

Misty realised that Brock was right. The ever-present electric-type was not in his usual place on Ash's shoulder. That was nearly unprecedented. Misty could count the number of times that Pikachu was not in Ash's team on the in the last five years on the fingers of one hand. "Maybe Ash decided not to use him," May suggested uncertainly. "After all, electric-types have a weakness against dragon-types…"

"_Everything_ has a weakness against dragon-types," Brock countered firmly.

"Yeah, only ice-types are any good against them," Matt said knowledgeably. "Ash only has one: his Lapras."

"Ash doesn't really like using Lapras in battles," Misty commented. "Besides, Pikachu is his favourite. He uses him even when it is against a type disadvantage. Anyway, even if Ash wasn't using Pikachu in battle, he wouldn't leave him in storage. He'd want him to see this battle!" Misty's blue-green eyes began to darken in anger. "I'm going to talk to him about this," she promised angrily.

"Calm down, dear," Delia said quietly, gently touching the girl on the wrist. "I'm sure that Ash has a good reason for his team choice today."

Out on the field, Goodshow turned to Ash. "So, Ash, are you ready for this?" he asked.

"Yes sir, I am," Ash said firmly. 

Goodshow noticed, with some glee, that there was no hint of doubt in the boy's eyes. He nodded and raised his microphone again. "_And now, please give a welcome to our defending champion, the Pokémon Master for the last ten years… _Lance Knight_!_" Lance strode out of the tunnel and down the line of flag-bearers. The crowd cheered, and Ash was sure that he could hear scores of girls scream 'Lance, we love you!' at the tops of their voices. However, he was also sure that he could hear Misty booing as loudly as she could. Somehow he managed to hide his grin.

Lance looked insufferably confident. He swaggered down the line of flag bearers, stopping occasionally to flirt with one of the girls or to wave to the crowd in an irritatingly imperious fashion. The man was wearing a pseudo-military uniform with lots of gold braid and a red-lined velvet cape over one shoulder. He smirked at Ash as he halted at the opposite end of the starting circle. "Not to late to back down, kid, even now," he said. "There's no need for your Pokémon to get hurt."

"Spare me," Ash snorted, fearlessly meeting the Champion's eyes.

"Lance, for the love of God, cut out the conquering hero act," Goodshow snapped. "It makes you look like an asshole and that reflects on the League." Lance rolled his eyes as the League's CEO walked off. 

The match referee took Goodshow's place on the centre mark. "All right, gentlemen," the man said. "I want this to be a good, clean battle. No dirty moves, no mind games and no 'accidental' near-misses on the opposing Trainer. Got that?" Ash nodded tensely. Lance put a hand to his heart in a way that communicated offended innocence. The referee nodded. "Okay, then, to your platforms and may the best Trainer win."

"Thank you, I'm sure that I will," Lance said with a poisonous smirk.

As the two men took their places on their platforms, Lance's trimmed in gold and Ash's with a clear material that looked like quartz or some other crystal, the referee used his lapel microphone to declare the rules of the match to the audience. "_This will be a six-on-six match. If a Pokémon is withdrawn, it will be considered knocked out and cannot be used again in this match. The winner will be the Trainer with a Pokémon left standing at the end of the match._"

The sound level dropped again as the beginning of the match drew ever closer. Lance unbuttoned his cape, flung it aside and smiled at Ash contemptuously. As if this _kid_ could beat him! Even so, only an idiot didn't use every weapon at his disposal. "Just before we begin," Lance shouted, "there is something that you should know, Ash." Ash looked at him curiously. "I am your long-lost father," Lance announced and grinned, waiting for his revelation to have the desired effect by ruining the boy's concentration at this critical moment.

To Lance's surprise, there was no surprise and no mixed emotions in his son's eyes. Instead, nightmarishly, Ash smiled at Lance in a way that made the older man think of hungry Feragatyrs. "I know," the young challenger said jovially. "But no good trainer uses his Pokémon to settle personal scores, 'father.' I'm here for your title, not to punish you for your sins." Ash grinned ferociously. "That's just a bonus," he added.

Lance swallowed nervously as a thrill of sound passed around the stadium. The contempt in Lance's voice and the cold steel in Ash's voice had declared that Lance's words were true. This was more than just a match for a title. This was father against son for offences that no one wanted to guess at.

In the West Stand, Sam squeezed Delia's hand and she smiled at her lover in a grateful fashion. "Mom?" Delia looked at Bonnie. "Is it true?" the girl asked, her face uncharacteristically pale.

Delia nodded sadly. "Yes, my darling," she said. "I'm sorry that you had to find out this way. I hoped that you would _never_ have to learn this truth."

Bonnie smiled in a shaky way and took her mother's free hand, squeezing it tightly. "It's okay," she said. "I understand why you did it."

The referee had taken charge of the situation again. "_The Challenger will choose his Pokémon first,_" his amplified voice declared. 

Ash nodded and pulled a standard-type Pokéball off of his belt. "Okay, let's see what this guy is made of," he declared. "Noctowl, I choose you!"

"Oooooowwwlll!" Ash's psychic-capable flying-type materialised high above his side of the starting circle, seemingly surrounded with sparkles as the sunlight caught his unusual golden chest feathers. 

Lance was not overly impressed, although he had to admit that his son's Noctowl was an aesthetically-pleasing creature. However, looking good and fighting well were distinct concepts. He pulled out a Fast Ball and threw it forwards. "Okay, time to earn your keep, Salamence!"

Lance's newest Pokémon materialised with a flash of white light and landed, hard, on his side of the starting circle. The indigo-coloured creature spread its' huge wings and bellowed at the top of its' voice.

[Loudmouth,] Noctowl mocked, still holding his position. Salamence scowled angrily and ground its' jaws in frustration.

Then things started moving very quickly. Ash pointed towards his opponent's Pokémon. "Okay, Noctowl, use Hypnosis!" Noctowl's eyes began to glow a glassy blue colour and Salamence's head began to sway from side to side. 

"Damn it! No!" Lance called out. "Focus, Salamence! Counter with Scary Face!" Salamence shook his head upon hearing his Trainer's words and snarled before making the most amazingly threatening face at Noctowl. The bird-like Pokémon retreated a few paces, looking uncertain. "Great! Follow up with Headbutt!" Lance commanded.

The impact of Salamence's graceful head against his own sent Noctowl tumbling through the air. Ash winced but didn't panic. "You can take it, Noctowl! Use Confusion!" The golden owl arced through the air and shot back towards Salamence, his eyes glowing with power. The air around the dragon-type's head seemed to shimmer and the huge Pokémon groaned with pain as the psychic attack made his synapses misfire.

Lance growled in frustration. "Use Leer, Salamence!"

"Use Growl, Noctowl!" Ash countered. 

Lance bit his lip in thought. Ash could keep up countering him forever. He had to create an advantage. "Use Focus Energy and then use Headbutt again!"

"Use Razor Wind!" Ash countered. Golden-red earth-type energy flared around Salamence as he powered up for his next attack. Simultaneously, Noctowl summoned a whirling vortex of wind in between his wings. Then, Salamence sprung forwards and slammed his head into Noctowl again, knocking the smaller Pokémon tumbling through the air. Noctowl scraped to a halt at Ash's feet, quite unconscious, his eyes crossed over in a vaguely comical way. Ash sighed and pulled out Noctowl's Pokéball again. "Nice try, Noctowl," he said. He swapped Pokéballs, pulling out a gold-and-white Ultra Ball. "Okay, subtle didn't work so good, let's try brute force! This one is all yours Snorlax!"

With a white flash, Ash's oversized teddy bear materialised on the challenger's side of the starting circle. Lance grinned. "Nice concept, son," he called out mockingly, "but Snorlax aren't half as tough as they look! Use Fly, Salamence!"

"Use Reflect and then Hyper Beam!" Ash countered. Snorlax concentrated and his body was suddenly surrounded by a glassy force-field bubble. Salamence charged forwards, taking to wing and seizing Snorlax, carrying him into the air. The dragon-type arced around and tried to slam his opponent into the ground. However, thanks to the Reflect shield, Snorlax just bounced along the arena floor like a massive pinball. The earth-type Pokémon swivelled on a foot to track the dragon-type as it arced around. Snorlax opened his mouth and a rolling red-gold sphere of earth-type energy appeared in between his jaws. Out of this issued a powerful beam of red-gold energy that caught Salamence mid-air and swatted him from the sky. The dragon-type fell to the ground on Ash's side of the arena with a crash that made everything shake.

Lance was virtually vibrating with anger. However, he was veteran of too many battles to lose his focus due to such frustrations. "He'll be too weak to attack again at once, Salamence," he called out. "Quickly! Use Dragon Claw!"

Salamence staggered to his feet, shaking his head in a dazed way. Then, with a defiant roar, he sprang towards Snorlax, lashing out with a foreleg surrounded by sparkling green dragon-type energy. Snorlax was blown back a few yards by the impact and he nearly fell at the foot of Lance's platform. However, the Reflect force field had worked its' magic again. "Tough beast!" Lance said appreciatively. "Use Dragon Claw again!" 

"Use Ice Punch, Snorlax!" As Salamence pounced forwards again, he was met by Snorlax's right fist, which was surrounded by sparkling blue-white ice-type energy. The impact made the dragon-type's head snap backward on his long neck and he fell onto his back, his wings and limbs limp. 

"Salamence! Salamence, can you hear me?" Lance was startled to say the least. Snorlax, in his experience, didn't get so tough. Obviously, Ash had been working hard with this one. With a shrug, he recalled the Pokémon to its' Fast Ball and swapped balls. He raised the Lure Ball and threw it forwards. "Okay, Gyarados, let's show him what _real_ power is like!"

"GYYYRRR!" Lance's Gyarados bellowed at the top of its' considerable voice. Snorlax, who had waddled back to his starting mark, didn't even look concerned.

Ash considered his next move carefully. Being partly a water-type, Gyarados didn't share the usual dragon-type vulnerability to ice-type attacks. It was also a very tough Pokémon overall, with very few obvious weaknesses. "We'll have to hit it hard and fast! Use Hyper Beam, Snorlax!" 

"Use Hyper Beam, Gyarados!" Lance countered. It all came down to speed, and Gyarados was far quicker than the lumbering Snorlax. The serpentine water/dragon-type opened its' fearsome mouth to generate a whirling red-gold ball of energy, out of which shot the familiar red-gold beam that was one of the most powerful conventional attacks used by Pokémon. The energy blast slammed into Snorlax, knocking him off his feet. The bear-like earth-type hit the ground with an enormous impact half-way to Ash from his starting position. 

"Sn… snore…" Snorlax moaned. The big Pokémon tried to rise to his feet and failed, collapsing onto his back.

"Oh, pal, don't feel bad," Ash said. "You did great. You don't have anything to be ashamed of." Ash pulled out Snorlax's Ultra Ball and recalled him.

"Barely a challenge, eh Gyarados?" Lance laughed, stroking his Pokémon's forehead lovingly.

Ash's mind whirled for a few seconds before he decided on his next move. He pulled out a standard-type Pokéball and threw it forwards. "Okay, now it's up to you Growvyle!"

Ash's grass-type from Houen materialised with a bright flash of light. There was something intimidating about the noise that its' arm- and tail-mounted leaves made as they snapped erect to their fighting position. Gyarados looked at his new opponent with a slight wariness that made Ash grin.

Lance scowled. "Use Hyper Beam again, Gyarados!" he commanded.

"Use Agility!" Ash countered. Growvyle turned into a green blur that shot from side to side as it darted forwards. Gyarados unleashed his red-gold energy beam, but it struck the point where Growvyle _had_ been standing just a moment before. The energy blast blew a substantial crater in the arena floor, but pyrotechnics aside it had no effect on Growvyle. "Great! Now use Leaf Blade!" Ash commanded. 

Growvyle darted forwards and slashed his razor-sharp arm leaves across Gyarados' belly. The serpentine dragon-type bellowed in pain and reared back, trying to escape its' tormentor. "Don't panic, Gyarados!" Lance called out in a commanding tone of voice. "Use Dragonbreath!" With a snarl, Gyarados spat out a whirling green gaseous sphere that struck Growvyle in the chest and knocked him onto his back. "Yeah! Now use Bite!"

Ash winced in empathic pain as Gyarados bit down on the grass-type's shoulder, making him shriek in pain. "Oh no! You okay, pal?" Ash called out.

Growvyle staggered to his feet. [I don't know,] he hissed. Ash realised that his Pokémon was trembling. The Dragonbreath attack must have triggered some kind of partial paralysis. That would explain why he couldn't dodge the Bite attack. 

"Use Quick Attack!" Ash ordered. Growvyle gathered himself and flung himself forwards, turning into an indistinct green-and-red blur. He slammed his fists into Gyarados' bottom jaw, knocking him backwards. "Great job, pal!" Ash called out. "Now get over here!" Ash reached into his medical pouch, slung from his belt. Growvyle ran towards his trainer as fast as he could. Ash pulled out a disposable hypodermic and used it to inject a dose of Paralyse Heal into his Pokémon's jugular vein. At that moment, he heard Lance command a Hydro Pump attack. "Dodge!" Ash shouted.

Growvyle leapt to one side and Ash was newly grateful for the polarised electrostatic field protecting the front of his platform. The twin torrent of water spat out by Gyarados slammed into the shield right in front of the young man's face, making him instinctively jerk backwards.

Lance snapped his fingers in disappointment. "We'll have to do this close-up Gyarados! Use Leer and then Surf!"

"Use Screech and then Leaf Blade, Growvyle!" Ash countered. Gyarados stared levelly at his opponent, his eyes seeming to glow with malice. Seemingly unaffected, Growvyle raised his head, opened his mouth and uttered a teeth-rattling screech that made every living thing in the stadium wince instinctively. Then, Gyarados was moving, generating a wave of water around him as he raced over the arena floor towards Growvyle. However, Growvyle was moving too. The grass-type shot towards his opponent, leading once again with his lethally-sharp arm leaves. The blade-like extremities slashed across Gyarados' belly, sending the water/dragon-type reeling off to one side. The snake-like Pokémon tumbled end-over-end for a few yards before coming to a halt.

The referee had no doubt after completing his examination. "_Gyarados can no longer battle. Bout to Challenger Ash Ketchum and Growvyle!_" The crowd roared their approval of the hard-fought bout and Growvyle leapt towards Ash. What started looking like an attack ended with an excited hug.

Lance recalled Gyarados to his Lure Ball and scowled. The arena's maintenance teams were just filling in the crater left by Gyarados' Hyper Beam attack, so he had a moment to contemplate his next move. The boy's Pokémon were all definitely strong. Lance touched a grey-and-white Super Ball for a moment before shaking his head. No. There was more than one way to pluck a weed. He would try the less-expected route first and, maybe, catch the boy unawares. He pulled out a standard Pokéball and threw it forwards. "Okay, let's show him the meaning of power, Altaria!"

The evolved dragon/flying-type materialised above its' end of the starting circle, most of its' body invisible in the icy cloud it generated around itself as a defensive mechanism. Growvyle looked up at the bird-like creature and snarled deep in his throat as he jogged over to his own starting position. 

Ash pursed his lips thoughtfully. As well as the dragon-vs.-grass advantage, Altaria also had a flying-vs.-grass advantage. He briefly considered swapping Pokémon, but if he did, he wouldn't be able to use Growvyle again. He would have to try something different. Lance smiled proudly, pleased to have confounded his opponent. "Okay, use Fly!" Altaria swept towards her opponent

Ash decided on his move. "Use Double Team, Growvyle!" There was a momentary blur and then there were _dozens_ of Growvyle in as rough semi-circle. Unable to tell the difference between them, Altaria hesitated before sweeping towards one, her talons outstretched. She shot through empty space with a squawk of surprise. "Great!" Ash crowed. "Use Solarbeam!" Growvyle flared his leaves and began to glow as he absorbed solar radiation.

Lance spat a silent curse. "Focus your mind, blast it Altaria! Use Dragon's Wrath!" The bird-like dragon-type finally located her enemy and glared at him, her eyes shining with green dragon-type energy. Then, with a loud cry, she flung herself towards him, a storm of green power building up around her. At that moment, Growvyle opened his mouth, a sparkling golden radiance visible within, and spat out a beam of golden-white light. The Solarbeam attack caught Altaria right between the eyes. However, she was strong enough to take a hit and keep going. She struck Growvyle hard and sent the grass-type Pokémon sprawling, skidding along the ground until he had almost reached the base of Ash's platform.

Lance nodded, pleased. "That's more like it," he said harshly. "Now, finish this with a Peck attack!"

Growvyle staggered to his feet. [I can take her, Boss!] he hissed. 

Ash didn't know whether to be pleased or appalled at the grass-type's bravery. He decided just to pay tribute to it by letting him keep fighting. "Okay, then! Use Dragon Claw!"

Lance's eyes opened just a little wider in a way that gave Ash a little satisfaction. As Altaria shot forwards, Growvyle leapt up to meet her mid-air. A glowing green claw slashed across the bird-like Pokémon's chest and knocked her from the sky. It was instantly apparent that she had fainted. As the referee confirmed this to the spectators, Lance looked at Ash and, for the first time, he saw fear in the eyes of the man who was once his father. That didn't please the young challenger at all. Fearful men are far more dangerous.

Lance decided to stop pussy-footing around. "Okay, Ash," he snapped angrily, "I'm taking off the kid gloves!" The Pokémon Master pulled out the grey-and-white Super Ball containing his starter. "Out you come, Charizard!"

The powerful-looking fire/dragon-type materialised high above its' start mark and lightly dropped to the ground. Growvyle looked determined, but Ash knew that the first Pokémon that he had caught in Houen was hopelessly outmatched. Growvyle had been badly hurt over the last two bouts and was facing a 4-to-1 type disadvantage. No amount of bravery or skill as a trainer could overcome this. Ash pulled out Growvyle's Pokéball and raised it. "That's enough, Growvyle," he called out. Growvyle glared at Ash in an accusing manner. "You've already done more than enough, pal," he said. "Now let the others take the strain." Growvyle nodded and visibly relaxed as Ash recalled him to his Pokéball. The boy had no doubt about who to choose next. He pulled out a Lure Ball and threw it forwards. "Out you come Croconaw!" 

Croconaw materialised right on his starting spot and immediately began to dance ecstatically. Evolving hadn't changed his enthusiasm, that was for certain. However, watching a Croconaw perform his mad dance was a little more intimidating than watching a Totodile do the same. Lance's Charizard, of course, wasn't visibly affected. Charizards, as a rule, rarely admitted to doubt, uncertainty or fear, even when facing a potentially overwhelming adversary. 

"Okay, Croconaw, let's have a Surf attack!" Ash commanded, determined to finish this quickly.

"Use Smokescreen!" Lance countered. Charizard breathed out a black cloud that completely obscured Croconaw as he dived onto his belly and began to ride towards his opponent on a wave of water that he had created. The smaller water-type missed with his opening attack. 

Ash realised that his opponent's Charizard was the faster of the two. "Okay, use Scary Face!" Croconaw, now clear of the smokescreen, grimaced at the dragon-type, forcing her to take a step back in horror at what she was seeing. "Great! Now use Water Gun!" Croconaw spat out a pressurised jet of water that caught Charizard in the face. 

"Use Fly attack!" Lance countered. His Charizard took to wing. 

Ash groaned. There was no way of avoiding what was to come. "Use Defence Curl, pal!" he called out. Croconaw tucked himself inwards, moving the less armoured parts of his body into protected areas. As he did so, Charizard came racing down and snatched him into the air. The dragon-type carried her opponent a few dozen yards and then dropped him. Croconaw ploughed into the arena floor, digging a long furrow in the sand. "Don't let up!" he called out. "Use Leer and then Water Gun again!"

"Use Smokescreen and then Dragon Rage!" Lance ordered. Charizard breathed out another jet of black smoke that obscured Croconaw as he began to glare dangerously at his opponent. A few moments later, a pressurised water jet comfortably missed the airborne dragon-type. Charizard seemed to take a moment to gather herself. She began to glow green with dragon-type energy and then dived into the whirling black smoke. There was a loud 'crunch' and Croconaw flew out of the smokescreen. The water-type hit the ground and lay there for a moment before staggering to his feet, looking rather dazed. "Now, use Fire Blast!" Lance commanded.

Ash winced. Even against a type disadvantage, Fire Blast was a powerful attack indeed. "Use Hydro Pump!" he commanded. Croconaw tucked his tail in between his legs and fired a jet of water alternately from his mouth and the tip of his tail. The attack struck the huge fireball of the Fire Blast attack and they interacted, turning into a thick, humid fog bank. Ash could figure out what was going to happen next. After all, he knew what _he _would do, under the same circumstances. "Use Defence Curl again, pal!" he commanded.

Croconaw complied just as an airborne Charizard emerged from the fog and used Body Slam on her opponent. The impact was so powerful that it pounded the water-type into the sandy arena floor. The referee ran over to Croconaw, but the verdict was a foregone conclusion. "_Croconaw can no longer battle!_" He declared. "_Bout to Champion Lance Knight and Charizard!_"

Lance laughed aloud and opened his arms, not (as Ash initially thought) to hug his Charizard, but to shake his fists at heaven. "You should have taken the hint, boy!" he shouted out. The man smirked as he looked at his son's scowl.

Ash was angry all right. He was angry that he had let his father's bluster get to him. He was a Pokémon Trainer, and he was a _professional_. He would fight as best as he knew how and he would let the moral issues of the battle settle themselves. He tucked Croconaw's Lure Ball onto his belt and pulled out a grey-and-white super-type Pokéball, containing one of his strongest Pokémon. "If water won't cut it, then let's try fire!" he called out. "Charizard, I choose you!"

With a bright flash of light, Ash's Charizard landed opposite his opponent. The two creatures glared at each other dangerously. In the stands, Misty immediately could tell the difference between the two Pokémon. Ash's Charizard was a slightly darker shade of orange-red, and his horns were slightly shorter. 

Professor Oak leaned forwards (noting, with a smile, that many of the other spectators were reacting similarly). Native battles of this kind were notoriously hard to judge. Much would depend on the relative skill of the respective Trainers.

"Okay, Charizard," Ash said urgently. "This is going to be a tough one, but I believe in you. You've got to move fast and you've got to be accurate. Are you ready?"

"CHAR!" Charizard barked; He was ready, all right.

"Use Dragon Rage!" Lance ordered, rightly deciding not to use a fire-type attack against another fire-type.

"Fly, Charizard!" Ash commanded. Charizard spread his wings and shot upwards, so fast that he sucked some of the arena floor sand after him in his wake. Lance's Charizard, glowing green with dragon-type power, landed on the spot he had occupied only moments before, looking around her in befuddlement. At that point, Ash's Charizard looped back around, seized her on either side of her wing roots and flung her forwards to slam into the ground a few feet in front of his Trainer.

"Damn! Counter with a Flame-thrower attack!" Lance commanded. His Charizard turned around and breathed out a long stream of orange-yellow fire that boiled around Ash's Charizard.

"Don't panic, pal!" Ash called out. "You can handle this! Use Smokescreen!" Lance's Charizard disappeared in a rolling cloud of black smoke. "And again!"

"Blast! Wake up, Charizard!" Lance spat. "Use Whirlwind!" The Pokémon Master's Charizard responded as best she could, but the soot from her opponent's Smokescreen attacks had got in her eyes. The whirling vortex of disrupted air that she had generated in between her wings cleared the smokescreen, but missed Ash's Charizard by a wide margin.

"Great! Use Dragon Rage!" Ash called out. Charizard shot forwards and slammed into his opponent, physically driving her into the base of Ash's platform. "Now let's finish this!" Ash called out. "Use Rage attack!" 

"No! Damn it, use Fly!" Lance countered. His stunned Charizard was too slow to avoid the first whirling series of scratches from her opponent. She launched herself into the air, avoiding the second, then looped around to strike Ash's Charizard head-to-head, dragging him half the length of the arena. The only affect on Charizard seemed to be to make his tail flame boil up brighter than before. He lashed out again, sending his opponent reeling.

"No!" Lance shouted. "Don't hold back, Charizard! Use Slash!" Ash's Charizard winced away as his opponent's claws dragged across his chest. His tail flame mounted brighter still, and the next strike from his claws sent Lance's Charizard down to the ground. The referee's verdict came as no surprise to anyone.

Lance found himself breathing very hard. Somehow, he managed to gain enough self control to recall his beaten starter and swapped Pokéballs. "Very impressive," he admitted hoarsely. "Let's see how you face a more exotic opponent! Come on out, Aerodactyl!" 

Ash quickly ran through what he knew about the Pokémon. Aerodactyl was a rock/dragon-type, giving it a definite advantage against Charizard. It could fly, but its' real advantage lay in the wide range of moves that it learnt, especially the recently-classified earth-type moves. Charizard landed on his side of the starting circle and snarled. [Let's do it!] he roared.

Ash had to smile at his fire/dragon-type's confidence. "You've got it, pal! Use Roar!"

"Use Ancient Power!" Lance countered. Aerodactyl took to wing and began to glow red-gold with earth-type power. Charizard raised his head and uttered the most bone-rattling roar that Lance had ever heard. Aerodactyl visibly quailed in fear. Then he unleashed his energy blast, striking Charizard in the middle of his chest. 

Ash winced as the impact drove Charizard backwards a few paces. Nonetheless, his dragon-type stayed on his feet and seemed still able to fight. "Use Seismic Toss!" Ash commanded. 

Lance's mouth dropped open. "Evade it, Aerodactyl!" he cried out. However, the Roar attack had slowed Aerodactyl's reactions and he wasn't able to get out of the way before Charizard seized him and flung him end-over-end through the air. The fighting-type attack paid off. Aerodactyl struck the centre of the arena, making a considerable crater, and lay unmoving.

Ash called Charizard over for a hug as Lance recalled his beaten Pokémon and the arena maintenance teams raced to fill in another crater. The Pokémon Master took a brief glance at the scoreboard, which only confirmed what he already knew. He had only one Pokémon left while Ash had two. Well, it was just as well that he saved his best until last, the Pokémon that he had the most confidence in. "Very well," he said, his voice like ice. "Let's proceed with the _real _test, shall we?" Lance pulled out a green-and-white Safari Ball and activated it. "It's all up to you now, Dragonite!"

"Gooonnn!" Dragonite cried out in his delicate voice as he landed opposite Charizard.

Ash narrowed his eyes thoughtfully. The Dragonite was one of the most powerful Pokémon that were generally used by Trainers, learning a wide range of moves from electric-type defensive moves to powerful dragon- and earth-type attacks. He could not toy with this opponent. "Up, Charizard!" he called out, pointing upwards. Charizard took wing.

"Follow him, Dragonite!" Lance responded. "Use Dragonbreath!" The two dragon-types rose into the sky, beginning a dramatic aerial ballet, dodging around each other's flight path and throwing powerful attacks back and forth. Finally, Charizard connected with his second Flame-thrower attack and sent Dragonite tumbling towards the ground. At the very last moment, the dragon/flying-type caught himself and stabilised his flight-path. "Well done!" Lance called out. "Now, quickly! Use Thunderwave!" A crackling wave-front of golden-white electricity caught Charizard as he dived in pursuit of his opponent. His nervous system partly shorted-out, the fire/dragon-type dropped to the arena floor.

Lance smirked as he looked at his son's Pokémon trying to regain its' feet. In a way, it was a little cute, how loyal Ash's Pokémon were and how far they were willing to go for him. "Hyper Beam," he ordered without inflection. Ash winced and looked away as the red-gold energy beam slammed into Charizard, flipping him over onto his back and knocking him out.

Lance folded his arms in an imperious way and watched as Ash recalled his Charizard to his Super Ball. "Don't say that I didn't warn you, Ash," he called out in a superior tone of voice.

"This battle isn't over yet," Ash responded. He pulled out the Super-type Pokéball containing his last Pokémon for the day's battle. 

Up in the stands, Misty suddenly leant forwards. The Super Ball had a small yellow thunderbolt painted just above the recall lens. "Hey! I recognise that Pokéball!" she called out. 

Straining his eyes to their limits, Brock agreed. They had never before seen Ash use this ball before, though. Its' assigned occupant wasn't a great fan of Pokéballs. Besides, he enjoyed riding on his Trainer's shoulder too much to ride in his Pokéball. "That's Pikachu's Pokéball!" he agreed.

Ash activated the ball and threw it forwards. "It's all down to you now, pal!" he yelled. "I know that you'll do me proud! I CHOOSE YOU!"

The ball split open and spat out a flash of white light that resolved into an unexpected shape… A body twice as long than before. A streamer-like tail that doubled the Pokémon's length, tipped with a sharp thunderbolt. Flattened ears tucked close to the head. The Pokémon continued through the air before landing on his end of the starting circle. "RAICHU!" it squealed.

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To be continued…


	5. The Very Best

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Pokémon – The Quest's End

A fanfiction by BenRG

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Disclaimer

Pokémon, the Pocket Monsters, their human friends and enemies and all the technologies of the Pokémon universe are the property of Nintendo., Creatures Inc. and Game Freak Software. This is a non-profit work for free distribution through the Internet. No breach of copyright intended.

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Author's Notes

This is an Alternate Universe story, closely linked to my Original Character story, 'The Journey'. Most of the events of Ash Ketchum's past have occurred as in the canon timeline. However, I have added one or two Pokémon to Ash's team that I feel he needs. I have also taken some liberties with some of the newer Pokémon, due to my unfamiliarity with the Ruby- and Sapphire-version Pokémon.

I don't know what they are going to call May's little brother Masato in the English-language dub of the animé. I have selected the name 'Matt' as being as good as any other.

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Censor: PG-13

Continuity: Takes place eight years after Ash began his Journey.

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The Story

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Chapter 5 – The Very Best

Misty uttered a little cry of disbelief and covered her mouth in what seemed genuine distress. "Oh Ash, how could you?" she murmured.

Delia couldn't understand what the problem was. "What's wrong dear?" she asked, touching Misty's arm.

Misty blinked tears out of her eyes. "Pikachu has never wanted to evolve!" she replied. "He always hated the idea! Now Ash has forced him to become a Raichu! Oh… I'll _never _forgive him for this!"

On Misty's other side, May scowled and jabbed an elbow into Misty's side. "Hey!" she snapped. "Have you ever known Ash to be cruel to his Pokémon?" Misty was so surprised at May's words that she forgot to be mad at the younger girl and simply shook her head mutely. "Then you know that he hasn't been cruel now!" May concluded.

Brock nodded. "You should know Ash better than that, Misty," he said. "You should wait to hear what he has to say before you condemn him, Misty. You know that."

Misty, feeling a little ashamed but too proud to admit she was wrong, simply slouched down in her seat, making as if she was sulking at being in a minority of one. Delia smiled and hugged the younger woman. She leaned over and whispered into Misty's ear. "Love means you have to trust them to do what is right," she said. "Even if you fear with all your heart that they have done what is wrong." Misty looked at Delia in surprise. Ash's mother smiled. "Are you brave enough to do that?" Delia asked, a mysterious light in her eyes.

Misty decided that there was nothing that she could say that would make the situation better. She went back to her slouch, but she was also watching Ash and his starter Pokémon through the fringe of her hair. _Be careful, Ash,_ she thought. _Make this worth it._

Lance looked at the fully-evolved electric-type Pokémon thoughtfully. "So, you've finally evolved your Pikachu, eh?" he remarked thoughtfully. "Well, I doubt that it will do you much good. Dragonite! Use Hyper Beam!"

"Use Light Screen, Raichu!" Ash responded. The electric squirrel was surrounded by a blue-white energy shield. The red-gold beam of the Hyper Beam attack struck home, sending Raichu tumbling end-over-end, but he wasn't badly hurt, landing on his feet and still looking ready for a fight. "Yeah! Now use Flash!" Raichu's body turned into a strobe-like red-gold flash of light for a moment, leaving everyone with a flash echo on their retinas. Much closer, Dragonite was dazzled and shook his in a dazed manner.

Lance hissed in anger. Ash's Raichu was now stronger, faster, had stronger elemental attacks and much greater resistance to the same. He had to respond appropriately. The species was still weak against physical attacks, after all. "Use Outrage!" he commanded.

"Use Thunderbolt!" Ash countered, pointing to the left. Dragonite, glowing with dragon-type power, jumped forwards and lunged towards Raichu. The smaller Pokémon dodged to the left and sent a jagged bolt of electricity into the dragon-type's side, sending it sprawling to the ground. 

"No! Use Dragon Rage, you clumsy…!" Lance bit off his anger. He wasn't going to go into this with Dragonite _now_, but his signature Pokémon would hear about this from him in the very near future. Dragonite lunged forwards again, this time scoring a hit. Ash had called for a Defence Curl in response, so Raichu wasn't as badly hurt he might have been. 

"Okay, pal," Ash called. "Use Flash again!" Raichu turned into a living flash-gun again and Dragonite visibly winced in pain, crying out as he was dazzled by the earth-type defensive move.

Lance shook his head to clear it. "Up!" he commanded, sending his Pokémon high into the air. Lance could feel the sweat running down his back. He suddenly realised that he was in real danger of losing this match! The boy was really good, and evolving his Pikachu had doubled its' combat potential. He had to finish this _fast_. There was no _telling_ what tricks the boy might have taught his starter. "Now, use Earthquake, Dragonite! And make it a _direct contact_ attack!"

Glowing yellow-white with ground-type power, Dragonite dropped right towards Ash's Raichu. Ash's mouth dropped open when he realised what was about to happen. "Agility!" he called. Raichu darted to one side, virtually at the last moment, before the dragon-type hit the ground, unleashing a powerful ground-wave. Somehow, the small electric-type managed to jump over the shock wave that radiated out from the impact. 

In the stands, Samuel Oak tensed with outrage. "That maniac!" he gasped. "That… that move would have _killed_ Ash's Raichu! A direct energy transfer with a type advantage? What is he trying to do?"

Misty knew. Delia had warned Ash of this. Lance would do anything to keep his title. Absolutely _anything_. He hadn't flinched from abandoning his wife and children, so why should he flinch from killing his opponent's Pokémon?

Back in the arena, Ash was too far 'in the zone' to worry too much about the disturbing direction that Lance's moves were taking. "Use Slam, Raichu!" he commanded. Raichu jumped forwards, looped his tail around Dragonite's right leg and then jerked his tail backwards. Dragonite was flipped onto his back and hit the ground with an earth-shaking crash. "Yeah! Okay, let's finish this! Use Iron Tail!"

Raichu, enjoying this battle tremendously, jumped forwards a few paces, his tail beginning to shine as if it were made of metal. The electric-type jumped into the air and launched himself towards his opponent, leading with his glowing tail. At the last moment, Dragonite dodged the other Pokémon's steel-type attack and lashed out with his wingtip, knocking Raichu from the air. "Finally! Now use Strength, Dragonite!" Lance commanded.

"Use Thunderbolt, Raichu!" Ash called out. Raichu responded and the Thunderbolt attack struck home, but Dragonite was an old, strong Pokémon, well able to continue with an attack despite injury. He slammed his full body weight into Raichu, who was still in mid-air from launching his Thunderbolt and sent him tumbling across the arena. 

Lance grinned. Privately, he was astonished that Dragonite was still moving and more than a little proud that his best Pokémon had been able to strike Raichu after two doses of Flash. "Finish it, Dragonite!" he commanded. "Use Strength again!"

"Pour on the Agility, pal!" Ash commanded, pointing at his feet to call Raichu over to him. Dragonite charged his opponent again but, this time, the combination of being dazzled twice and Raichu's blinding speed carried the smaller Pokémon clear of danger.

Raichu stopped in front of Ash's platform and was grateful to receive a dose of Hyper Potion as, at the other end of the stadium, Lance provided his own injured Pokémon a dose of the most powerful health restorative legally allowed for battles. "Okay, Dragonite," Lance said. "We have to finish this. I know that you are having problems here, but I trained you to be the best. I _know _that you can do this, so don't disappoint me."

"Dragon!" Dragonite replied, feeling a little dazed by this point. 

"Raichu, we have to take that guy down before he gets lucky and hurts you badly," Ash said. "Get ready and focus everything you've got on your next attack." Ash looked at his Pokémon affectionately. "You set?"

"Rai!" Raichu shot Ash a 'V-for-victory' sign and winked. Raichu bounded forwards towards his opponent and Lance nodded. Ash was right. There was no more cause for delay or hesitation. "Aim for the centre mark, Dragonite," he commanded, hoping to overcome Dragonite's loss of accuracy by directly guiding him onto his target. "Now… Up and Earthquake attack!" Dragonite took to the air, building up for another Earthquake.

"Use Thunder attack!" Ash commanded. 

Raichu braked in mid stride and drew inside himself for his every reserve of power. "Rai… _Rai_… RAI… _CHUUU_!!!" Golden-white electricity blasted out of the electric-type's small body and consumed Dragonite in mid air. The dragon-type screamed in agony and fell limply to the ground, his body convulsing from the massive electrical discharge.

"Damn it _no_! This isn't happening!" Lance bellowed. "Use Hyper Beam! Now, you stupid beast!"

"Use Headbutt, Raichu!" Ash called out. Raichu jumped forwards, carried by the power of his Agility. Coincidentally, it also took him well clear of the massive energy blast directed at him by Dragonite. The explosion obscured Ash's view, so he didn't see his starter's Headbutt strike home. He did see Raichu land on his starting mark, though, as Dragonite staggered to his feet. 

Lance, desperate, decided to use a weaker but more accurate attack. "Use Swift, Dragonite! Quickly and keep it coming!" Dragonite didn't respond. The Thunder attack had shorted out his motor nerves and he was having trouble convincing his limbs to respond to his mind's commands.

"Thunderbolt attack, pal!" Ash countered. Raichu leaped into the air and, with another defiant cry, unleashed another crackling golden-white whiplash of power. The electric-type attack consumed Dragonite and the mighty dragon-type roared in pain, convulsing all over. With a massive crash, Lance's most formidable Pokémon dropped limply to the ground and made no further move except to breathe shallowly.

Raichu backed towards Ash's platform and watched, waiting for whatever might come next. The referee was kneeling on one knee beside Dragonite, examining the unconscious dragon/flying-type Pokémon. "_Dragonite can no longer battle,_" he announced. "_Bout to Challenger Ash Ketchum and Raichu! Ash Ketchum is the winner of this match._"

As the last light on Lance's side of the scoreboard blinked out, the crowd erupted into the loudest ovation heard in the stadium for a generation. Lance dropped to his knees, his hands raised to the heavens in horror and disbelief. Raichu leapt into Ash's arms as the young man cried out in amazement and joy. He had won! 

~*~*~*~

Deep beneath Viridian City's Earth Gym, Giovanni diRocketti switched off the wide-screen TV set on which he had been watching the battle. "I always knew that little Pokémon would have been the strongest ever of his kind," he said. "And I always knew that you would be formidable one day, boy." The leader of Team Rocket sat back in his chair and began to ponder. "Don't believe that your new position leaves you free from fear, Ash Ketchum," he growled in his semi-darkened office. "And don't think that just because Jessie and James failed that my other agents will do so too. Power like yours will serve me… or it will fall before me."

Giovanni blew out a breath and tried to make himself relax. Persian jumped into his lap and he began to stroke his favourite Pokémon in a meditative way as he made his plans.

~*~*~*~

For Ash, it was like a strange dream. He could remember doing things and he could remember everything that happened around him with razor-sharp clarity. Yet, it all seemed to be happening to someone else. He felt detached from the world, as if he was watching everything from above. He remembered hugging Raichu, shaking hands with the referee and then walking to the centre mark to raise his battered old Pokémon League cap to the heavens to acknowledge the crowd's cheers. 

He was barely conscious of the poisonous look that Lance shot at him as the man walked over to tend to his fallen Dragonite. Trevor Goodshow walked over to shake Ash's hand and pound him on the shoulder. As the Elite Four (and several other Master Trainers, like Agatha Goodshow and Lorelai Prima) surrounded Ash, shaking his hand, pounding his back and generally congratulating him, Ash could see Lance arguing with Mr. Goodshow. Lance was gesturing at Ash, at himself and his fallen Dragonite before shaking his head and making a sweeping, cutting motion with both hands. Goodshow shook his head, said something that made Lance turn nearly black with rage and turned away from the deposed Pokémon Master. 

"Come on, Ash," Goodshow said, taking Ash by the arm and leading him towards the stairs that led up to the Master's box.

The climb seemed to take forever, but Ash felt no fatigue. It all seemed so unreal. Finally, they reached their destination. The Elite Four stood two to either side of Ash as Mr. Goodshow put a rainbow-coloured sash around the boy's body. He pinned a unique badge to Ash's sports jacket, a hollow Pokéball emblem in pure gold with a 20-carat diamond at the very centre. 

The continual cheers rose in intensity as Mr. Goodshow led Ash to the very edge of the platform. Ash looked out into the sea of faces and suddenly everything seemed real again in a way that he had never expected to experience. "My lords, ladies and gentlemen," Goodshow called out. "Masters, Trainers, and Novices, boys and girls, I pray your attention!" There was a sudden hush. Into this silence, Goodshow's voice, seemingly a whisper, echoed out. "I present to you, Ash Ketchum… The Pokémon Master."

The crowd exploded into an ovation that seemed to go on forever. Ash could only stand there, his face pale and a slightly stupid smile on his face. Raichu leapt over his Trainer's shoulder with a joyful cry, his tail streaming behind him like an acrobat's streamer.

No matter what the future held, no matter what joys and pains that might follow this day, Ash would always remember the moment in which his life changed. Now and forever, he was Ash Ketchum…

__

Pokémon Master!

~*~*~*~

Ash looked down at the concrete panel that would shortly be taking its' place in the League hall of fame. Around the perimeter were the claw-prints of Growvyle, Charizard and Croconaw, Snorlax and Raichu's forepaw-prints and Noctowl's talon-print. In the centre were Ash's own hand prints and a signature, scrawled as best as Ash could in the then-wet concrete. "I can't believe that I've done it, pal…" he said to Raichu. He noticed the sardonic look that his starter shot at him. "Okay, I can't believe that _we've_ done it."

[That's better,] Raichu giggled.

"Ash Ketchum!" shouted a very familiar and welcome voice. Ash turned around, opening his arms for a hug from Misty. What he got was a slap around the face that sent him tumbling to the ground. "You selfish bastard! How could you have done that to your best friend?"

"W… What are you talking about, Misty?" Ash blurted, too disoriented to defend himself. He was rubbing the side of his cheek and trying to get enough muscle control back to get off the ground.

"What am I talking about?" Misty couldn't believe that Ash could have the brazen chutzpah to ask that. She grabbed the young man by the lapels of his shirt and dragged him off the ground. "I'm talking about that, you numbskull!" Misty gestured savagely at Raichu. "After all your talk about giving Pokémon a choice, the minute the chips were down, you forced him to evolve. You… _crud_! I can't believe that I let you be my boyfriend! I don't even want to _look _at you anymore!"

"Misty! I didn't force him to do anything!"

"Don't lie to me you little creep!" Misty screeched in reply, raising a hand for another slap.

As entertaining as this was, Raichu decided to stop this before Raichura actually caused Raira serious injury. He unleashed a Thunderwave attack that consumed the girl and made her body stiffen. Of course, it also affected Raira through their physical contact but, hey! 'You can't make an omelette', as Brock always said at breakfast…

Misty had, much to her embarrassment, landed on top of Ash's prone form. The two teenagers looked each other in the eye, blushing brightly. The pain of a slapped cheek let Ash break his paralysis first. "Misty… I didn't force Raichu to evolve," he said at last.

"I want to believe that, Ash, I really do," Misty replied. "But… But Pikachu was never interested in evolving before. Why should that change?"

[Because this was a battle like none before,] Raichu announced from where he was sitting. The electric-type clearly enunciated his words, knowing that Misty wasn't as familiar with his language as Ash was. [Because I needed to be stronger than ever before. I asked Raira to do this for me, and have no regrets.]

"You… You asked Ash…?" Misty said, looking at Raichu in perplexelment.

[Yes, I asked him,] Raichu confirmed.

Misty's eyes began to fill with tears. She looked down at Ash, noticing her handprint on his left cheek. "Oh Ash! I'm so sorry!" she cried out, her voice shaken with sobs. "How can you forgive me? I should have trusted you…!" The young woman seized Ash in a death-grip hug and the young man had to struggle for breath for a few moments.

"Misty! Mist…! Hey, calm down!" Misty raised her tear filled eyes to look into Ash's brown laughter-filled eyes. "Misty, you have a lot of credit with me," Ash said. "You made an honest mistake because you love my friends. I don't think you have to apologise for that." Misty looked at Ash and felt herself starting to blush again. That was when she recalled their position on the floor together. She squeaked and jumped to her feet like a scalded Skitty. 

"I feel stupid," she admitted as Ash got up. 

"Hey, we all make dumb mistakes," Ash replied as he staggered to his feet. "I should know that better than anyone." The boy stepped closer to his girlfriend and smiled. "The trick is not to let them ruin the good things in your life." Ash leaned forward to place a gentle kiss on Misty's cheek.

Misty smiled and grabbed the back of Ash's head with both hands as her boyfriend started to back away. "No, stupid, like this," she said. She pressed her lips to Ash's and the two of them forgot about the world for a few seconds. Ash stiffened in surprise and then relaxed into the kiss. He could get used to this.

After a moment, Misty broke contact. "You stink," she said with her usual forthrightness. "Get into that shower."

~*~*~*~

Misty was leaning on the wall outside Ash's locker room, glad that Ash would not have to wait around for the press. The official press conference with the new Pokémon Master took place immediately after the match. She was so absorbed in forcing herself not to think about Ash in a shower that she very nearly missed the approach of Lance Knight.

Misty scowled at the person who was, by some joke, Ash's biological father. "What do you want?" she asked waspishly.

Lance offered the girl a smile that bordered on being a snarl. "Why, I want to congratulate my son on his new title and position of course," he snapped. "I also want to offer him some sage advice."

"Does this advice mask a threat?" Misty asked.

Lance snorted. "Only to the unwise," he replied.

Misty smirked. She levered herself off of the wall and walked towards Lance, putting as much sensuality as she could into her stride. "I'm sorry," she said. "The Pokémon Master is a busy man. He can't take the time to listen to every _loser_ who comes along with a get-rich-quick scheme."

Lance growled, raised his hand to put this leggy, underdeveloped _girl_ into her place and then thought better of it. "Your boyfriend has got lucky, Ms. Waterflower," he hissed. "He shouldn't have any illusions, though. It takes a lot more than he has got to be The Pokémon Master. I should know, I held the post for a decade."

"So?" Misty asked, bridling inside at Lance's comments. As if he knew _anything_ about what Ash was and was not capable of! He hadn't even seen the boy for over 14 years!

"So, I may be of use to him," Lance said, sounding cunning and pleading at the same time. "I know where the skeletons are buried and I know what levers to pull to get action. As his advisor, I can make sure that he enjoys his time at the top far more. No matter how short a time that may be."

"I doubt that he is interested in anything that you have to offer him, _Lance_," Misty snapped.

"Maybe not," Lance agreed jovially. "But if you were to advise him to put his old hurts behind him and take my hand of friendship when it is offered?"

Misty raised an eyebrow. "Why should I do that?"

Lance snorted. "You love him," he said, a statement rather than a question. "You should ask how best you can help the one you love. I can be a very valuable friend and advisor, Ms. Waterflower. I can also be a dangerous enemy. Ask yourself which of those you want your love to have."

Lance strode away. His words had left Misty feeling cold. It was a cold that was only slightly dispelled when Ash emerged from his locker room and hugged her tightly.

~*~*~*~

It is an old tradition that the acclamation of a new Pokémon Master should be celebrated with a grand ball. That night, in the League Ballroom at the base of the Stadium Hill, the ball was in full swing.

Ash, feeling uncomfortable in his tuxedo, was waiting with Professor Oak, Gary and Matt (who looked kind of odd in a hastily-hired suit that looked like a recycled school uniform). Brock was off somewhere dancing with the Nurse Joy from Pewter City (the two of them had come to some sort of arrangement in the last year or so). The other women had yet to arrive. Something told Ash that his mother had something to do with this. His hands were sweating in anticipation.

"Mrs. Delia Ketchum of Pallet Town accompanied by her daughter, Bonita," the herald by the doors cried out. Ash grinned to himself. His sister _loathed_ her proper given name. "Miss Misty Waterflower of Cerulean City and Miss May Crosse of Petalburg Town!" the herald continued.

To his left, Ash heard Gary gasp in shock. His eyes were all for Misty, however. His mother had found a beautiful, pure-white dress that seemed perfect for the young woman. Off the shoulder and hugging the curves of her body, she seemed like a goddess in Ash's eyes. "Misty! You look… _beautiful_!" he finally managed to blurt out.

"Thank you, kind sir," she replied with a giggle, enjoying his enraptured look.

Gary and Matt were staring at an optical illusion. "Um… Which is which?" Gary asked helplessly. 

May… or maybe Bonnie, giggled. "Can't you guess?" she asked flirtatiously. "You've only been chasing your chosen since her arrival, after all!" Bonnie and May were in identical lavender-coloured dresses. Their hairdos and even their accessories were identical. 

Gary made a funny sound in the back of his throat. "I think I'm going crazy," Matt said in a shaky tone of voice.

Gary filtered out the kid's irritating voice and looked a little harder at the 'twins' before him. Under closer examination, one twin had blue eyes the other brown eyes. He took the hand of the blue-eyed girl. "Nice try, Ms. Crosse," he said, his usual cocky tone restored.

"That has earned you a dance, Mr. Oak," May replied with a grin. 

"Has it?" Gary asked with a carnivorous smile. "Let's see what else I can earn!"

"Can I have a dance, please, Bonnie?" Matt sounded nervous. 

Bonnie smiled down at Matt. He was a cute kid, really, and she doubted that she would get a much better offer that night. "Why not?" she asked. "Just try not to step on my toes too often!" Matt looked up at Ash's sister in an offended way before noticing the sly humour in her chocolate brown eyes.

~*~*~*~

"Shoes too small, Ash?" Misty asked. The two teenagers were out in the ballroom's central courtyard. Misty was sitting on the lip of a fountain while Ash removed his formal shoes and massaged his feet.

"They were the right size when I bought them," he replied. "But I haven't actually worn them before today, and I'm not used to them."

"Now you know what we women go through every time we wear high heels," Misty replied. That went right over Ash's head. "So, Pokémon Master," Misty continued, "what is next for you?"

Ash considered that. "I'm not sure," he admitted at last. His whole life had been leading up to this moment and now, farcically, he couldn't think of what he was going to do next. Many opportunities were open for those who held his rank. As well as a purely ceremonial and formal role in the League's administration, a Pokémon Master could choose to become a teacher of the lore of Pokémon Training. He would act as the League's champion and chief trouble-shooter. He was even free to start his own Pokémon Gym in the place of his choosing.

"It is a big change in lifestyle, I guess," Misty said, playing nervously with her long hair. Inside, she was fretting. Ash could get any girl that he wanted now. Would he still be interested in her?

"I know one thing," Ash said at last. "Whatever I do, I want to do it with you." There was a long pause as Misty looked at Ash in shock and joy. "Misty, you are the one that got me this far," Ash said. "You don't think I would give you up now?"

"No point getting rid of a winning coach," Misty agreed with a slight smile.

Ash laughed, then turned serious again. "It is more than that," he said. "You are my inspiration Misty. What I do, I do for you, because I want you to be proud of me."

"I… I am… I am proud of you, Ash," Misty replied. Why had her throat closed up like this? "You don't have to prove anything to me!"

"Misty, I know we are both young, and I don't want to rush you but…" Ash fumbled in his pocket and drew out a small velvet-covered box, which he opened up. Inside, nestled in a silk lining, was a small silver ring with an unmarked band. "The jeweller called this a 'Promise Ring'," Ash said. "It is my promise to you, that I will always want you with me. Will you stay with me Misty? When… when the time comes, will you… Will you… you know… will you?"

Misty looked on in awe and joy as the moonlight shone off of the band of the Promise Ring. Then she laughed, a beautiful sound in Ash's estimation. "Ash, are you asking me to set myself aside for you? To maybe eventually… marry you?"

"Not right now!" Ash blurted. He blushed and looked into Misty's blue-green eyes. "Eventually, yes," he whispered.

"I'd be happy to," Misty said. "But only if I knew how you feel about me."

Ash sucked in a deep breath and grabbed his courage with both hands. "I love you Misty Waterflower," he said.

"I love you too, Ash Ketchum," Misty replied. Then they kissed, _really _kissed.

[I love happy endings!] Togetic trilled as Ash bashfully slid the Promise Ring onto a blushing Misty's left ring finger.

[The end of one story,] Raichu said wisely, [but the beginning of a new one.]

__

To be concluded…


	6. The End Comes to The Beginning

****

Pokémon – The Quest's End

A fanfiction by BenRG

****

Disclaimer

Pokémon, the Pocket Monsters, their human friends and enemies and all the technologies of the Pokémon universe are the property of Nintendo., Creatures Inc. and Game Freak Software. This is a non-profit work for free distribution through the Internet. No breach of copyright intended.

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Author's Notes

This is an Alternate Universe story, closely linked to my Original Character story, 'The Journey'. Most of the events of Ash Ketchum's past have occurred as in the canon timeline. However, I have added one or two Pokémon to Ash's team that I feel he needs. I have also taken some liberties with some of the newer Pokémon, due to my unfamiliarity with the Ruby- and Sapphire-version Pokémon.

I don't know what they are going to call May's little brother Masato in the English-language dub of the animé. I have selected the name 'Matt' as being as good as any other.

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Censor: PG-13

Continuity: Takes place eight years after Ash began his Journey.

****

The Story

__

Epilogue – The End Comes to the Beginning

The little girl with blue-green eyes and raven-black hair, which flowed down her back before spreading like wings at waist level, looked up excitedly at the tall man with grey-streaked black hair held back (weirdly enough) by a red hair-band. "So, Chloe, are you ready?" he asked.

"Am I ready?" Chloe asked, sounding disbelieving. Her father, standing behind her, squeezed her shoulder warningly. Chloe rearranged her features into something more approaching respect. "Yes, Professor Sketchitt, I'm ready," she said. Then the strain became too much and she blurted out: "Are you really going to give me my first Pokémon now?"

Tracey looked up at the girl's father with a wry smile. "Like daughter like father," he said.

"And proud of it, too," Chloe's dad replied with a laugh.

Tracey nodded in agreement. He looked around the hills of Pallet Town before turning his attention back to the latest Novice Trainer to come to him. "Yes," he said. "I really am going to give you your first Pokémon, Chloe." The girl virtually squealed with delight. "Do you think you are ready for the responsibility for caring for a Pokémon?" he asked.

Chloe drew in a deep breath. "I've lived around them all my life," she reminded her father's old friend. "But, yes, I am. I promise to feed, and groom and train it to the best of my ability."

Tracey's lips twitched upwards in response to the unconscious pomposity in the girl's voice. "Okay then," he said. He reached behind him and his wife and assistant, Melody, handed him a grey-and-white Super-type Pokéball with a leaf painted above the recall lens. Chloe virtually snatched it and held it to her like it was the greatest treasure that she had ever possessed. Maybe it was at that.

"Aren't you going to introduce yourself to your starter, Chloe?" her mother asked gently. Chloe looked up at her mom and nodded, knowing that if she made a suggestion, it would always be a good one. 

The girl touched the 'release' touch-pad on the ball's side and the ball split open. It emitted a flash of white light that resolved itself into a squat green toad-like creature with blue-grey splotches all over its' hide. A green bulb like an onion was growing out of its' back. The Pokémon looked up at Chloe with fire-red eyes and smiled. "Bubbasaar!" it growled.

"It's a Bulbasaur! Oh, how wonderful!" Chloe dropped to her knees to embrace her Pokémon. The Bulbasaur reared up on his rear legs to cuddle closer to his Trainer. "I'm going to so enjoy travelling with you, Bulbasaur!"

"Saar!" Bulbasaur grinned in reply.

"Now, Chloe," I have a gift for you of my own. Chloe looked up at her father in surprise. The tall man in the dark shirt, jeans and jacket reached into his jacket and drew out a battered red-white-and-green official Pokémon League cap. 

Chloe gasped. "Daddy! Is that…?"

Ash Ketchum, the still-undefeated Pokémon Master, smiled down at his oldest child. "Yes, Chloe, that is the cap that I wore during the battle when I became The Pokémon Master, fifteen years ago. It was a lucky charm for me back then, Chloe," he told his daughter. "Now I want you to have it. Sort of passing the torch, I guess." Ash felt the rush of memories overtake him for a moment, and looked at his wife, Misty, who was holding onto the hand of their second child and oldest son, Brett. The years had been kind to Misty, now leader of the Elite Four and the most famous water-type Master Trainer in history. In Ash's admittedly biased view, she was even more beautiful than ever. 

Chloe seemed to freeze at the thought of taking the _hat_, so Ash, with a slight grin, perched it on the girl's head. Chloe seemed to wake up at that point. She gathered her long hair into a ponytail and stuck it through the gap over the adjustment strap at the back of the cap. "Thank you, daddy," she said. "I'll take care of it."

"Better care than he did, I'll bet," Misty said with a wry wink. Ash shot his wife a mock glare and she stuck our her tongue, winking at him.

Chloe had turned her attention back to her Pokémon and the two were already bonding, Chloe excitedly telling her new friend how they would become the greatest Trainer/Pokémon pair ever. "Er… After you and Raichu, of course, daddy," she added to Ash.

[And don't forget it!] Raichu declared.

Ash didn't believe it for a moment of course. She was going to be the _very _best, if she had anything to do with it. What else could he expect from a child of the Ketchum and Waterflower bloodlines? "I'm sure that you will do your very best, Chloe," he said. "Never forget that, no matter what you choose to do, your mother and I will always love you and be proud of you, okay?"

Chloe nodded soberly. As Ash turned to Misty to discuss some adult stuff. Chloe looked at her Bulbasaur. "You know, I think it is stupid calling you by your species name all the time," she told him. "Would you like a nickname?" Bulbasaur cocked his head. Chloe took that as compliance. "How about… Herbie! That's it!"

The grass/poison-type grinned at his Trainer. "Bubbasaar!" he declared, liking the sound of the name.

"Herbie it is, then!" Chloe declared. Then the realisation of what was about to happen hit the little girl hard and she had to concentrate to force back the tears. "Daddy… Mommy…" she said quietly. Ash and Misty immediately turned their attention to their child. "I'm… I'm going to have to go now…" she said.

Misty's eyes felt wet. She willed the tears away, not wanting to detract from the day that her daughter had dreamt of from the first moment she was consciously aware of the Pokémon's role in their culture. "I know, honey," she said. "Don't be afraid. I know that you're ready."

Ash knelt in front of his little girl. "Chloe, there is something that I want you to remember for me," he said. The 10-year-old girl focussed her eyes on her father. "I want you to remember that Pokémon are your very best friends, not tools to an end," he said. "Look at Herbie. He loves you already. He is ready to fight for you and to die for you. That means that you have to be ready to fight for him, and even to die for him. Do you understand? You must do this together, or you won't do it at all."

"I understand, Daddy," she said. "I'll make you proud of me."

"I've always been proud of you," Ash said. "I always will." He hugged his little girl and was glad to feel her hug him back. 

"We will always love you, Chloe," Misty repeated, hugging her first child hard. "_I_ will always love you. Don't ever forget that." 

"I know, Mommy," Chloe said, her voice choked with emotion. After a few moments, she was able to separate from her mother and grin at her brother. "This is it, Squirt," she said. "Look after yourself."

"You too, Sis," Brett replied. "Hey, you never know! We might run into each other out there in a couple of years!"

Chloe grinned at her kid brother. "You would have to be very good to catch me up, Brett," she teased. The two youngsters laughed. Ash and Misty exchanged a significant look.

After a long moment, Chloe took a reluctant step backward. She pulled her backpack to her shoulder and prepared to leave. "Bye Mom, Dad, Brett… I love you!"

Misty reached out, not ready to let her first child go just yet. "We love you too," she said. "Journey safely… And don't forget to change your you-know-whats every day!"

Chloe coloured prettily. "Mom!" she protested. Then she winked at her mother.

"Go on, don't keep destiny waiting," Ash said. "Never forget that we are here for you, Chloe, but always walk forwards. And like the Pokémon, never look back."

Chloe nodded firmly. She turned decisively and started to walk towards Route 1 and the first stage of her Journey, Herbie the Bulbasaur skipping alongside her, eager for the start of his own adventure. Chloe looked over her shoulder. "Bye!" She called. "Love you! I'll call from Viridian City!"

"Best of luck! We love you!" Misty called back.

"Watch out for the Spearows!" Ash added.

[Shade and sweet water!] Raichu called.

[Mew watch over you!] added Togetic.

As Chloe Ketchum and Herbie the Bulbasaur started their journey into the future, Ash put his arm around Misty's shoulder. His mate leaned into his embrace, sad and filled with joy all at the same time. "And so the end comes to the beginning," he told his wife. As Chloe vanished from view, the two of them turned back to Ash's Pokémon Gym, to continue their own journey, day-by-day.

****

The End

Endnotes

Whew! That one has been buzzing around in my head for some time! Basically, if you take every chapter except the epilogue as separate episodes of the animé, that is how I would like the series to end. I'm glad that I've finally got it down on paper! 

So, did it rock or did it stink? I will only know if you press the little button next to the words 'Submit Review' below. If you prefer to keep your comments private, feel free to email me at BenRG@rgflat.freeserve.co.uk. 

__

BenRG

31st July, 2003


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